Asbestosis Hospitalizations – Louisiana, 1999–2009

Details

• Personal Author:
  Davis C ; Lackovic M ; Vijaykumar J
• Description:
  Historic asbestos uses in Louisiana, such as ship-building, may have resulted in increased asbestos exposure to Louisiana residents in comparison with other states as reflected in Louisiana's significantly elevated rate. Although it is expected that hospitalization rates increase with age, the racial and geographical differences are surprising. The significant difference between Blacks and Whites may reflect racial differences in occupations that were present 40 to 50 years ago. High rates of hospitalizations in river parishes are not surprising since asbestos was heavily used in the shipbuilding industries located in these areas. However, clustering in the northeastern area of the state was not expected. The geographical clustering may reflect data limitations as parish information denotes the patient's residence at the time of hospitalization, which may not reflect where the person worked. It is expected that the hospitalization rate will remain high due to asbestosis's long latency period and the relatively recent ban on new uses. Despite stricter regulations, there is still a risk of exposure due to the continued use of many asbestos-containing products that were not affected by the ban. Monitoring the impact of these products on workers will require ongoing tracking of asbestosis cases in order to better identify high risk work practices and settings. This information, in turn, can result in a tightening of workforce regulations, if warranted. Healthcare providers can assist public health officials in this pursuit by collecting and recording patients' occupational history. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Asbestos Epidemiology Inorganic Chemicals Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Race Factors Safety Ships
• Keywords:
  Age Factors Asbestosis Asbestos Workers Occupational Exposure Racial Factors Shipbuilding Industry Surveillance
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  4-5
• Volume:
  22
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061542
• Citation:
  LA Morb Rep 2011 Mar-Apr; 22(2):4-5
• Email:
  cassandra.davis@la.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Asbestos (CAS RN 1332-21-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Performing Organization:
  Louisiana State Office of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Louisiana Morbidity Report
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8685a9a9bf63322152acfcb9b899ec5014d0c75aa611848043b06c86a5f783d9758e9e29b08b2d2b0d31816e104dcfcd928c2a024b589b4db959fa3e055630f0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225048/cdc_225048_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 605.27 KB ]