"Asbestos related disease - a community epidemic in the making."

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hurst GA ; Lemen RA ; Selikoff IJ ; Wagoner JK
• Description:
  The importance of epidemiological assessments in tracing the development of disease among workers was demonstrated in this report concerning the exposure of workers to asbestos (1332214) particles. A NIOSH field survey made at a thermal pipe insulation facility in the southwestern portion of the United States measured airborne asbestos concentrations of 15 to 20 times the current standard. A significant number of workers employed for less than 10 years at this site demonstrated symptoms and signs consistent with asbestos related diseases. Potential for community exposure was also great. Prior to the opening of this facility in the southwest, its predecessor was operating in the northeastern United States from the early 1940s through 1954. A study of a 900 member cohort of former employees at this earlier site was completed and demonstrated a highly significant excess of asbestos related diseases, malignant and nonmalignant in nature. A study of family members living with the worker at the time of employment, indicated that 50 percent of these family members had x-ray abnormalities consistent with asbestos related disease. Other reports indicating that asbestos related diseases were not limited to the worker were cited as well. Ninety percent of all past employees of the southwestern facility had been located and the search was continuing for the remaining 10 percent.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Dust Lead Lead Poisoning Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Skin Skin Absorption Skin Diseases
• Keywords:
  Asbestos-products Cancer-rates Construction-materials Epidemiology Insulation-materials NIOSH-Author Occupational-exposure Pulmonary-system-disorders Risk-analysis
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Other
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSCI - Division of Field Studies and Clinical Investigations
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00192311
• Citation:
  NIOSH 1971 Jan; :1-4
• CAS Registry Number:
  Asbestos (CAS RN 1332-21-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1971
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary-system-disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Division of Field Studies and Clinical Investigations, NIOSH, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Cincinnati, Ohio, 4 pages, 3 references
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b20c18ceebc9acb8149ef3a962e332678a0677b18c9fe2f6446b69aa6fbfd10adec157a89eda14358675309213548f13fb4afd9381a5e4e0283fae5b6f346964
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/180304/cdc_180304_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 219.96 KB ]