Cancer risk to allergy patients from syringes with asbestos-wound plunger

Details

• Personal Author:
  Selikoff IJ ; Stokinger HE
• Description:
  A question was raised concerning the possible hazards associated with the fragmenting of the asbestos (1332214) winding about the plunger tip of syringes used in allergy desensitization treatments. The concern was that these fragments would contaminate the allergy extract that was being injected and perhaps cause cancer at some later time in the patient. The possibility that a study might exist which would show that recipients of allergy desensitization injections had a higher incidence of neoplasia was raised. The replies to this question indicated that no studies existed to document a carcinogenic risk from the asbestos contamination of the fluid being injected for allergy desensitization shots. However, parenteral and subcutaneous injections of supposedly significantly greater amounts of asbestos in experimental animals have produced neoplasms. It has also been demonstrated that subcutaneously injected asbestos fibers migrate to other tissues. Mention was made also of the fact that some cases of mesotheliomas, both pleural and peritoneal, have been reported in the literature of unknown origin and yet there was an assumption of asbestos exposure in extremely minute amounts. The authors recommend that the use of syringes with asbestos wound plungers should be abandoned. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asbestos Carcinogens Inorganic Chemicals Neoplasms Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Asbestos-products Cancer-rates Carcinogenesis Lemen Medical-treatment NIOSH-Author Risk-factors
• ISSN:
  0098-7484
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  225
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00192117
• Citation:
  JAMA 1973 Jul; 225(4):423
• CAS Registry Number:
  Asbestos (CAS RN 1332-21-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1973
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of the American Medical Association
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dadd5a51f1be39f75c34622bc84c0d8e297835222619f1d33f20415ace2693123f1ed6b091bb30761d960f0d3d7110330ec73090e9462999fbb9a0bb884dda16
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/204280/cdc_204280_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 320.33 KB ]