Developments in asbestos cancer risk assessment

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lemen RA ; Silverstein MA ; Welch LS
• Description:
  Background: Efforts have been made for 25 years to develop asbestos risk assessments that provide valid information about workplace and community cancer risks. Mathematical models have been applied to a group of workplace epidemiology studies to describe the relationships between exposure and risk. EPA's most recent proposed method was presented at a public meeting in July 2008. Methods: Risk assessments prepared by USEPA, OSHA, and NIOSH since 1972 were reviewed, along with related literature. Results and Conclusions: None of the efforts to use statistical models to characterize relative cancer potencies for asbestos fiber types and sizes have been able to overcome limitations of the exposure data. Resulting uncertainties have been so great that these estimates should not be used to drive occupational and environmental health policy. The EPA has now rejected and discontinued work on its proposed methods for estimating potency factors. Future efforts will require new methods and more precise and reliable exposure assessments. However, while there may be genuine need for such work, a more pressing priority with regard to the six regulated forms of asbestos and other asbestiform fibers is to ban their production and use. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asbestos Environmental Health Environmental Monitoring Epidemiology Inorganic Chemicals Neoplasms Occupational Health Risk Assessment Safety
• Keywords:
  Amphiboles Asbestos-fibers Author Keywords: Asbestos Cancer Cancer-rates Chrysotile Environmental-health EPA Exposure-assessment Information-systems Lung Cancer Mathematical-models Mesothelioma Models NIOSH Occupational-health OSHA Regulations Risk-analysis Risk Assessment Statistical-analysis

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040949
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2009 Nov; 52(11):850-858
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Michael Silverstein, Clinical Professor, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington School of Public Health, 3312 French Loop NW, Olympia,WA 98502
• Email:
  masilver@u.washington.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Asbestos (CAS RN 1332-21-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d3da4782b80c34576fe841c0885cd7cfcedb063cf1b4dbd45f97cf8f2566cd1c6010592052a4cb09798d90389663d93b7b217eb5fb83b69ffb41d366c4e7c570
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193637/cdc_193637_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 115.09 KB ]