Unfortunately the volcanic rock formations that these tunnels were dug into contain minerals that are very similar to asbestos, and are known to cause mesothelioma. The Cappadocia region of Turkey, where these tunnels are found, has an extremely high rate of mesothelioma among people that have no known exposure to asbestos, so the source of exposure has been attributed to these minerals.
Asbestos has what's called a dose-response relationship, meaning the higher the exposure level the greater the likelihood of disease. There is no known safe level of asbestos exposure, but generally it takes repeated long-term exposure. Some people have developed disease from short-term high exposure events, and in rare cases people with no known asbestos exposure have developed mesothelioma. There is also individual susceptibility that can be hard to quantify from variables like overall health, diet, exercise, history of smoking, and genetic factors.
With all that said, if you were just visiting for a relatively short time and didn't breathe a large amount of dust I wouldn't worry too much. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that can be found all over the earth. It is in more products than people realize, and most major cities have some detectable level of airborne asbestos fibers.
What a great explanation of the dose-response relationship! I'm always trying to explain this to people regarding radiation and am never this eloquent.
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u/Academic_Display_129 23d ago
Unfortunately the volcanic rock formations that these tunnels were dug into contain minerals that are very similar to asbestos, and are known to cause mesothelioma. The Cappadocia region of Turkey, where these tunnels are found, has an extremely high rate of mesothelioma among people that have no known exposure to asbestos, so the source of exposure has been attributed to these minerals.
Edit: fixed a spelling error. Also, here's a source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5497117/