ABSTRACT
Introduction: Asbestos workers have a higher risk of developing mesothelioma; however, few studies have looked at specific jobs and job locations within asbestos factories. The purpose of this study was to investigate asbestos exposure in different job locations of the Tyler, Texas asbestos plant to determine if there was a relationship between the duration of exposure and air fiber concentration burden in workers who developed pleural versus peritoneal mesothelioma.
Methods: This study used a patient information database to compile secondary data on 23 [ asbestos workers ] who died from mesothelioma through 2011. The airborne fiber exposure burdens for each of the 23 workers were estimated and then stratified by job location category and by type of mesothelioma for analysis.
Results: Most of the [ asbestos workers ] cases were assigned to the forming area which had the overall highest fiber concentration of all the plant’s job locations. Workers who developed pleural mesothelioma spent the most time in the packing and miscellaneous locations, whereas workers who developed peritoneal mesothelioma worked mostly in the forming and miscellaneous locations. There were significant differences in days worked and estimated airborne exposure fiber burden between the pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma cases in the forming and curing locations.
Conclusion: Results from this study reiterate the association between occupational asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, emphasizing the importance of concentration of respirable asbestos dust levels and duration of exposure.
1 Introduction
Asbestos causes a wide range of malignant and nonmalignant deadly diseases, with pleural and peritoneal malignant mesothelioma well recognized among them. Both pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma have significant latency from the onset of exposure. In historical milling and manufacturing settings, there have been few studies with available quantitative airborne exposure data or comparison of exposure risks for the two mesothelioma types using such quantitative data or job category information as an alternative exposure estimate.
The Tyler, Texas asbestos plant described in this study operated between 1954 and 1972 using almost exclusively amosite asbestos to produce pipe insulation. During this period, 1130 [ asbestos workers ] were exposed to amosite asbestos while working in a variety of positions as they created the pipe insulation. This operation process was divided into five different areas: milling, forming, curing, finishing, and packing. There were also workers whose positions took them to a variety of locations in the plant, thus forming a sixth location category: miscellaneous. Multiple studies have thoroughly described the operation process at this asbestos manufacturing facility. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the forming and curing locations, respectively. Accordingly, workers were exposed to varying levels of airborne asbestos based on location and duration of job assignment. [Footnotes omitted.] [Article continues at original source]
Asbestos & Mesothelioma Information
Asbestos-Mesothelioma Case Evaluation
Free. Confidential. No Obligation.