Incidence, mortality and survival in malignant pleural mesothelioma before and after asbestos in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

BACKGROUND: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but fatal cancer, which is largely caused by exposure to asbestos. Reliable information about the incidence of MPM prior the influence of asbestos is lacking. The nationwide regional incidence trends for MPM remain poorly characterized. We use nationwide MPM data for Denmark (DK), Finland (FI), Norway (NO) and Sweden (SE) to assess incidence, mortality and survival trends for MPM in these countries. METHODS: We use the NORDCAN database for the analyses: incidence data were available from 1943 in DK, 1953 in FI and NO and 1958 in SE, through 2016. Survival data were available from 1967 through 2016. World standard population was used in age standardization. RESULTS: The lowest incidence that we recorded for MPM was 0.02/100,000 for NO women and 0.05/100,000 for FI men in 1953-57, marking the incidence before the influence of asbestos. The highest rate of 1.9/100,000 was recorded for DK in 1997. Female incidence was much lower than male incidence. In each country, the male incidence trend for MPM culminated, first in SE around 1990. The regional incidence trends matched with earlier asbestos-related industrial activity, shipbuilding in FI and SE, cement manufacturing and shipbuilding in DK and seafaring in NO. Relative 1-year survival increased from about 20 to 50% but 5-year survival remained at or below 10%. CONCLUSION: In the Nordic countries, the male incidence trends for MPM climaxed and started to decrease, indicating that the prevention of exposure was beneficial. Survival in MPM has improved for both sexes but long-term survival remains dismal.

Analysis of workplace compliance measurements of asbestos by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (1984-2011).

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) maintains the Chemical Exposure Health Data (CEHD) and the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) databases, which contain quantitative and qualitative data resulting from compliance inspections conducted from 1984 to 2011. This analysis aimed to evaluate trends in workplace asbestos concentrations over time and across industries by combining the samples from these two databases. From 1984 to 2011, personal air samples ranged from 0.001 to 175 f/cc. Asbestos compliance sampling data associated with the construction, automotive repair, manufacturing, and chemical/petroleum/rubber industries included measurements in excess of 10 f/cc, and were above the permissible exposure limit from 2001 to 2011. The utility of combining the databases was limited by the completeness and accuracy of the data recorded. In this analysis, 40% of the data overlapped between the two databases. Other limitations included sampling bias associated with compliance sampling and errors occurring from user-entered data. A clear decreasing trend in both airborne fiber concentrations and the numbers of asbestos samples collected parallels historically decreasing trends in the consumption of asbestos, and declining mesothelioma incidence rates. Although air sampling data indicated that airborne fiber exposure potential was high (>10 f/cc for short and long-term samples) in some industries (e.g., construction, manufacturing), airborne concentrations have significantly declined over the past 30 years. Recommendations for improving the existing exposure OSHA databases are provided.

Asbestos is still with us: repeat call for a universal ban.

All forms of asbestos are proven human carcinogens, causing malignant mesothelioma and a host of other types of cancers. No exposure to asbestos is without risk; there is no safe threshold of exposure to asbestos. When evidence of the carcinogenicity of asbestos became incontrovertible, a worldwide ban was called for on asbestos use, mining, and manufacturing. Asbestos is now banned in 52 countries. Nonetheless, many countries still use, import, and export asbestos and asbestos-containing products; many countries that have banned other forms of asbestos still permit the use of chrysotile asbestos. This exemption has no basis in medical science, but reflects the political and economic influence of the asbestos industry. To protect the health of all people, the Collegium Ramazzini calls again on all countries of the world to join in the international endeavor to ban all forms of asbestos. An international ban on asbestos is urgently needed.

Identification and enumeration of asbestos fibers in the mining environment: mission and modification to the Federal Asbestos Standard.

Since the promulgation of the first Federal Asbestos Standard by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1972, other federal agencies have modified the standard to better carry on their own unique missions. The instruments used to identify and measure asbestos, the sampling protocol, and the criteria used to define asbestos, have been modified to some degree. The Mine Safety and Health Administration regulates and controls asbestos dust in the mining and mineral commodity industries. However, crushed stone and processed ores contain mineral fragments that are frequently difficult to distinguish from asbestos. Mineral nomenclature, instruments for particle analysis, and sampling strategy must be accommodated to some degree to make asbestos control workable and meaningful. Precedent in other agencies has made consideration of these changes possible. Newly identified amphibole asbestos minerals have further complicated the agency's regulatory charge. Changes in its Asbestos Standard are now being considered. Crushed taconite ore in the Eastern Mesabi highlights many of these issues.

Changes in B-readings over time in the United States Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program.

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of variability among B-readers on clinical occupational medicine. METHODS: A total of 419,770 B-reading reports from February 1980 to May 2004 in the US Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program were analyzed for changes in category from the previous B-reading on each individual worker. RESULTS: Over 7% of films were categorized as worse (ie, read as going from negative to positive), and over 6% were categorized as better. When profusion categories were reported as different from the previous reading (over 6% of the time), they were more frequently read as 2 or more minor categories worse or better. CONCLUSIONS: Changes from previous B-readings are common, and may have clinical and other implications, which are discussed. B-readings should not be used as the sole basis for determining the presence or absence of pneumoconiosis.

Asbestos exposure during routine brake lining manufacture.

Occupational exposure to asbestos fiber and total dust of workers of a major brake lining manufacture plant in a developing country were examined and compared with those in developed countries. Time weighted average of total dust and asbestos fiber concentration in the potential sources of exposure were monitored. All personal air sampling were collected on membrane filters and analyzed by phase contrast optical microscopy (PCM) for comparison with the occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 0.1 f/cc, 8-h time--weighted average. This study demonstrates that routine mixing, polishing and beveling process in the brake lining production can result in elevated levels of airborne asbestos. Greater releases of airborne asbestos were observed during mixing process and mixer machine. The results also showed that the employees working in the process had the exposure to total dust concentrations ranging from 2.08 to 16.32 mg/m(3) that is higher than OSHA, recommendation. According to OSHA definition of fibers, it has been indicated that from 3,000 counted particles, 90% of particles are in the form of non-fiber and reaming have fiber-shaped. The particle analyze gives the geometric mean diameter as 6.02 mum, and also indicated that the arithmetic mean of the number distribution for the particle population was 8.4 mum. Approximately 60.4% of the counted fibers were lower than 10 mum in length, from which only 8% consists of fibers (>5 mum in length). In conclusion, the analysis showed a presence in the air of only chrysotile asbestos and an absence of other types of asbestos. During an 8-h shift, the average asbestos fiber exposure (0.78 f/cc) were 7.8 time in excess of OSHA PEL. Additional studies in occupational exposure to asbestos are needed.

Frequency of sister chromatid exchange in chrysotile-exposed workers.

Chrysotile, which is an industrial carcinogen, has been shown to induce a dose-dependent increase in the frequency of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in vitro. Authors designed this study to examine the increase of SCEs frequency in the workers occupationally exposed to chrysotile. Heparinized whole blood samples from 45 chrysotile-exposed and 45 control volunteers were cultured for 72 h. The significant difference of SCE frequency was found between chrysotile-exposed workers and control group. The highest SCEs frequency was found in chrysotile-exposed smokers, and the lowest in control non-smokers. The effect of chrysotile exposure on SCEs was marginally significant after controlling the effects of age and smoking by multiple regression analysis.

Double standards: the multinational asbestos industry and asbestos-related disease in South Africa.

This study documents and contrasts the development of knowledge about asbestos-related disease (ARD) in South Africa and the United Kingdom. It also contributes to the globalization debate by exploring corporate decision-making in a multinational industry. Between the 1930s and 1960s, the leading U.K. asbestos companies developed a sophisticated knowledge of ARD, though in South Africa, where the leading companies such as Turner & Newall and Cape Asbestos owned mines, there was little attempt to apply this knowledge. Asbestos mines (and their environments) in South Africa were uniquely dusty and ARD was rife. Social and political factors in South Africa, especially apartheid, allowed these companies to apply double standards, even after 1960 when the much more serious hazard of mesothelioma was identified. This shows the need for greater regulation of multinationals. Because of the lack of such regulation in the early 1960s, an opportunity was lost to prevent the current high morbidity and mortality of ARD both in South Africa and worldwide.

Products liability issues in school asbestos litigation.

The hazards posed by deteriorating friable asbestos in the nation's schools are causing serious concerns for public health officials, school boards, parents and school employees. Reports by both the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Attorney General's Office agree that both school children and school employees stand a substantially increased risk of contracting some form of asbestos-related disease as a result of exposure to deteriorating asbestos materials in school buildings. School systems plagued by the asbestos hazards are now filing suits against asbestos manufacturers alleging causes of action in breach of warranty, negligence and strict products liability in tort. Some plaintiffs in school asbestos litigation seek to recover the costs of EPA-mandated asbestos inspection and abatement programs which have already been completed. Still others request injunctions to compel the manufacturers themselves to conduct inspections and finance abatement. This Note examines the school asbestos situation from a legal perspective and focuses primarily on whether the schools' claims should be considered as economic losses or as property damage. It examines the impact of statutes of limitations on these cases under both contract and tort theories. The Note argues that school asbestos claims should be decided under a strict products liability standard.

[Occupational exposure to asbestos-containing dust at the plants manufacturing and using asbestos products during the years 1986-1989]. / Ekspozycja zawodowa na pyly zawierajace azbest w zakladach produkujacych i stosujacych wyroby azbestowe w latach 1986-1989.

During 1986-1989, dust levels at workplaces in 19 plants manufacturing or using asbestos products in Poland were measured. Total dust concentrations were determined by the gravimetric method and respirable asbestos fibre concentrations were determined by the phase contrast optical microscope method (PCOM). Air was sampled at the breathing zones of the workers by using Casella personal air samplers. Average respirable asbestos fibre concentrations at the workplaces were from 0.06 fibre/cm3 (control desk operator) to 2.25 fibre/cm3 (spinning machine operator), and the average total dust concentrations were from 0.7 mg/m3 (technicians) to 2.3 mg/m3 (preparatory department workers). Compared with the 1980-1985 period, total dust concentrations were 1.5 times, and respirable asbestos fibre concentrations 2.9 times lower. Considering the obtained data and the analysis of the occupational diseases in workers exposed to asbestos dust during 1983-1988, the national expert group for industrial dusts has suggested that the MAC values for chrysotile dusts be lowered to 1.0 mg/m3 (total dust) and 0.5 fibre/cm3 (respirable fibre).

[Maximum permissible levels of asbestos and other natural minerals with fibrous structure--necessity of verification]. / Najwyzsze dopuszczalne stezenia dla azbestu i innych naturalnych mineralów o strukturze wlóknistej--koniecznosc weryfikacji.

MACs of asbestos are from 2 to 20 times higher in Poland than in other Western Europe countries. The analysis of occupational diseases reported between 1983 and 1988 among workers of asbestos-cement plants has showed that Polish MAC values do not protect people from work-related asbestosis. Asbestosis was frequently diagnosed in workers employed at mining and processing of nickel ore containing admixtures of fibrous antigorite. The risk of asbestosis in workers of a nickel++ metallurgical plant was 8 times higher that in those employed at an asbestos-cement plant. In an animal study, fibrogenic, carcinogenic and mutagenic activity of antigorite was similar to the biological aggressiveness of crocidolite. Based on own studies and literature data, the following MACs for asbestos and other natural fibrous minerals were established: a) for dusts containing asbestos and other fibrous minerals except crocidolite and fibrous antigorite, total dust concentration equals 1 mg/m3 and concentration of fibres longer than 5 microns = 0.5 fibre/cm3 b) for dusts containing crocidolite and fibrous antigorite total dust concentration = 0.5 mg/m3 and concentration of fibres longer than 5 microns = 0.2 fibre/cm3.

[Asbestos substitutes and their biological action. I. Types, use, exposure and MPEL]. / Zamienniki azbestu i ich dzialanie biologiczne. 1. Rodzaje, zastosowanie, narazenie i skutki biologiczne, NDS.

Referring to literature, the authors present problems of exposure to asbestos, its production and MACs in Poland. In our country artificial mineral fibres are produced in seven plants employing about 2000 workers. These plants produce basalt wool, sag wool and glass fibres used in industrial and building insulating materials and in cement and mortar additives and as a free insulating material. Mean concentrations of total dust at the work-posts measured in 1986-1989 ranged between 1.06 mg/m3 and 3.10 mg/m3. Concentrations of respirable fibres ranged from 0.041 fibre/cm3 to 0.173 fibre/cm3. In Poland, the MAC for mineral fibres for total dust amounts to 4 mg/m3 and for respirable mineral fibres to 2 fibres/cm3.

[Mortality rates in industrial cohort studies. II. Standardized relative risk]. / Miary umieralnosci w badaniach kohort przemyslowych. II. Standaryzowane ryzyko wzgledne.

Presented in the paper are the features of standardized mortality rates (SMR) related to their comparability in different categories of exposure factor as well as features of standardized relative risk (SRR) of the possibility of evaluating the significance of the calculated value of relative risk and possibility of comparing SRR values in different categories of exposure factor. The method of calculating and interpreting SRR was based on the materials of the authors' own cohort study on mortality in a cohort of workers exposed to asbestos dust.

[Regulations of controlled use of asbestos-containing materials in construction industry]. / Normativnoe obespechenie kontroliruemogo ispol'zovaniia asbestosoderzhashchikh materialov v stroitel'stve.

The article deals with analysis of Russian Federation Law on safety concerning use of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials in construction of nonindustrial objects. The authors present recommendations on the law improvement for implementation of ILO Convention No. 162 on safety of work with asbestos in Russia.

The role of safety and security directors in asbestos abatement programs for hospitals.

Asbestos removal in any building can pose a health risk to both workers and occupants of the building. This is especially true in hospitals. What precautions should the hospital safety and security directors take to minimize health risks? This article discusses ways to develop and implement an asbestos abatement program for hospitals that is both safe and effective.

[Content of asbestos fibers in water sources of the Bazhenovo deposit]. / Soderzhanie volokon asbesta v vodoistochnikakh Bazhenovskogo mestorozhdeniia.

The paper provides preliminary measurements of asbestos levels in water sources from an area of the Bazhenovo chrysotile-asbestos deposit. All study water samples have been found to contain chrysotile-asbestos fibers at concentrations one-three orders less that the values standardized in the USA (7 x 10(6) vol/l). The authors consider it advisable to continue studies to measure asbestos levels in the water sources in the areas in vicinity of other Russian deposits.