> Do some people's lungs gradually clear away the asbestos particles more effectively than others'?

At least in terms of damage to the lungs, from what I gather (by reading wikipedia!) it's the degree of inflammatory response to the asbestos that is critical, not the presence of the asbestos itself. If your body thinks 'asbestos, oh shit!' and mounts a big response to attempt to wall off the particles etc. then you are in trouble.

Fun fact: asbestos is blowing around in the air pretty much everywhere at some level.