Apollo pressure suits.

[VQ]

Like tiny glass shards going everywhere. I really wouldn't like to breathe that. Once in zero-G, didn't the enviromental systems start to take it out of the air?

I would be curious to hear the answer to this. I would imagine electrostatic forces played a major role as well, making the dust "stick" to some surfaces until disturbed.

[Allan F]

Regarding the boots, I wonder how much feel for the surface they provided?

[ka9q]

As far as I know, none of the Apollo lunar astronauts has developed lung cancer as you might expect if lunar dust behaved like asbestos. The grains are sharp, uneroded by rain or wind, so they tend to stick to everything. But they probably don't continually fracture and work their way deep into the lungs as asbestos does.

[Glom]

As far as I know, none of the Apollo lunar astronauts has developed lung cancer as you might expect if lunar dust behaved like asbestos. The grains are sharp, uneroded by rain or wind, so they tend to stick to everything. But they probably don't continually fracture and work their way deep into the lungs as asbestos does.

But even if it did, is it necessarily carcinogenic?

[ka9q]

My understanding (and I'm not a biologist or doctor or anything like that) is that certain types of asbestos cause lung cancer by repeatedly cleaving into smaller and smaller fibers that work their way deep into the alveoli of the lungs where they cannot be flushed out by the usual protective mechanisms.

[Al Johnston]

I think that's asbestosis, not actually a form of cancer...

[ka9q]

Ah, I see it's a distinct condition that increases the risk of various malignancies like lung cancer and mesothelioma. Fortunately I've never known anyone with it.

[Noldi400]

My understanding (and I'm not a biologist or doctor or anything like that) is that certain types of asbestos cause lung cancer by repeatedly cleaving into smaller and smaller fibers that work their way deep into the alveoli of the lungs where they cannot be flushed out by the usual protective mechanisms.

Regolith dust shouldn't be carcinogenic in the way that asbestos is.  Individual asbestos fibers are so freakin' tiny ( .06 um - an average human cell is around 80 um in diameter) that they can actually penetrate cells and get into contact with chromosomes, which interferes with normal cellular division and is thought to set off the unregulated cell growth of cancer.

AFAIK, regolith doesn't share this characteristic - although there are many carcinogenic mechanisms and it could, I guess, have one of the other ones.

[Abaddon]

My understanding (and I'm not a biologist or doctor or anything like that) is that certain types of asbestos cause lung cancer by repeatedly cleaving into smaller and smaller fibers that work their way deep into the alveoli of the lungs where they cannot be flushed out by the usual protective mechanisms.

Regolith dust shouldn't be carcinogenic in the way that asbestos is.  Individual asbestos fibers are so freakin' tiny ( .06 um - an average human cell is around 80 um in diameter) that they can actually penetrate cells and get into contact with chromosomes, which interferes with normal cellular division and is thought to set off the unregulated cell growth of cancer.

AFAIK, regolith doesn't share this characteristic - although there are many carcinogenic mechanisms and it could, I guess, have one of the other ones.

Disclaimer: I am in no way a medical person.

As I understand it, regolith is carcinogenic in the same way as volcanic ash on earth. If I recall correctly, silicosis(sp?) is the offending beasty and regolith would have the same effects on the lungs.

[BazBear]

Silicosis is indeed a nasty disease, but not a type of cancer.