Asbestos And Meso Disease As It Relates To Women In The Workplace

Asbestos And Meso Disease As It Relates To Women In The Workplace

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One interesting study concerning high levels of asbestos exposure and death rates is called, Mortality Patterns Among Female and Male Chrysotile Asbestos Textile Workers by Brown, David P. MPH; Dement, John M. PhD; Okun, Andrea MS - August 1994 - Volume 36 - Issue 8. Here is an excerpt: Abstract: This study updates a retrospective cohort mortality analysis of workers from a South Carolina textile plant where chrysotile asbestos was the primary exposure. The update adds 15 years of observation to the original study, adds analyses of white women and black men, and allows comparison of mortality risks between race/gender groups. The total cohort includes 3,022 workers: 1,229 white women (363 deaths), 1,247 white men (607 deaths), and 546 black men (289 deaths). Statistically significant risks for lung cancer were observed among white women (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 2.07; 90% confidence interval [CI] = 1.55-2.71) and white men (SMR = 2.24; 90% CI = 1.83-2.72); both of these groups exhibited positive exposure-response trends. Although the lung cancer risk among black men was lower than expected (SMR = 0.70; 90% CI = 0.42-1.08), a statistically significant increase was observed at high levels of exposure. Statistically significant excess risks for pneumoconiosis and other respiratory diseases were observed for all race/gender groups. Despite the relatively high percentage of white women lost to follow-up and missing death certificates, both of which allow underestimation of the true relative risk, statistically significant excess risks were observed for lung cancer and pneumoconiosis among this group.

Another interesting study is called, The Biopersistence of Brazilian Chrysotile Asbestos Following Inhalation by David M. Bernstein, Rick Rogers and Paul Smith - 2004, Vol. 16, No. 11-12 , Pages 745-761. Here is an excerpt: With the initial understanding of the relationship of asbestos to disease, little information was available on whether the two different groups of minerals that are called asbestos were of similar or different potency in causing disease. Asbestos was often described as a durable fiber that if inhaled would remain in the lung and cause disease. It has been only more recently, with the development of a standardized protocol for evaluating the biopersistence of mineral fibers in the lung, that the clearance kinetics of the serpentine chrysotile have been shown to be dramatically different from those of amphibole asbestos, with chrysotile clearing rapidly from the lung. In addition, recent epidemiology studies also differentiate chrysotile from amphibole asbestos. The biopersistence studies mentioned have indicated that chrysotile from Canada and California clear rapidly from the lung once inhaled. However, variations in chrysotile mineralogy have been reported depending upon the region. This is most likely associated with variations in the forces which created the chrysotile fibers centuries ago. In the present study, the dynamics and rate of clearance of chrysotile from the Cana Brava mine in central Brazil was evaluated in a comparable inhalation biopersistence study in the rat. For synthetic vitreous fibers, the biopersistence of the fibers longer than 20 m has been found to be directly related to their potential to cause disease.

Another interesting study is called, The biological effects of mineral fibres, especially asbestos, as seen from in vitro and in vivo studies. By Harington JS - Ann Anat Pathol (Paris). 1976 Mar-Apr;21(2):155-98. Here is an excerpt: Abstract - Two in vitro models have been extensively used to compare the biological action of different types of asbestos fibres: the haemolytic effect and the cytotoxic one on macrophages grown in cell culture. The use of both techniques as led towards a better understanding of the chemical reactions which occur between fibres and the biological membranes of cells or intracellular organelles. Studies on the prevention of haemolysis and cytotoxicity have also been of use in explaining how asbestos acts a the cellular and molecular levels. Regarding in vivo studies, useful comparisons have been made of the fibrogenic and carcinogenic effects of different types of fibres in man and experimental animals. Both the in vitro and the in vivo aspects of the problem are discussed in some detail and an attemps is made to provide a reasonably unified concept for both.

Another interesting study is called, Asbestos Dust and Its Measurements by C. G. Addingley - Ann Occup Hyg (1966) 9 (2): 73-82. Here is an excerpt: Abstract - The nature of asbestos dust and the testing requirements are discussed. Existing standard methods are briefly reviewed. The development of a membrane filter method of dust counting for asbestos is described in detail. It is thought to be an improvement on existing methods. Tyndallometric methods are considered, and a description of the application of the Royco Particle Counter, an instrument based on this principle, to factory testing is described. It is believed that this instrument represents a big advance in routine test methods.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to these fine researchers for their important work. If you found any of these excerpts helpful, please read the studies in their entirety.

About the Author:
Monty Wrobleski is the author of this article, for more information please click on the following links

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