Vermiculite, Respiratory Disease, and Asbestos Exposure in Libby, Montana: Update of a Cohort Mortality Study

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Environ Health Perspect
• Personal Author:
  Sullivan, Patricia A.
• Description:
  Background
  
  Vermiculite from the mine near Libby, Montana, is contaminated with tremolite asbestos and other amphibole fibers (winchite and richterite). Asbestos-contaminated Libby vermiculite was used in loose-fill attic insulation that remains in millions of homes in the United States, Canada, and other countries.
  
  Objective
  
  This report describes asbestos-related occupational respiratory disease mortality among workers who mined, milled, and processed the Libby vermiculite.
  
  Methods
  
  This historical cohort mortality study uses life table analysis methods to compare the age-adjusted mortality experience through 2001 of 1,672 Libby workers to that of white men in the U.S. population.
  
  Results
  
  Libby workers were significantly more likely to die from asbestosis [standardized mortality ratio (SMR) = 165.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), 103.9–251.1], lung cancer (SMR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.4–2.1), cancer of the pleura (SMR = 23.3; 95% CI, 6.3–59.5), and mesothelioma. Mortality from asbestosis and lung cancer increased with increasing duration and cumulative exposure to airborne tremolite asbestos and other amphibole fibers.
  
  Conclusions
  
  The observed dose-related increases in asbestosis and lung cancer mortality highlight the need for better understanding and control of exposures that may occur when homeowners or construction workers (including plumbers, cable installers, electricians, telephone repair personnel, and insulators) disturb loose-fill attic insulation made with asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from Libby, Montana.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Aged Aluminum Silicates Asbestos, Amphibole Asbestosis Cohort Studies Humans Lung Neoplasms Male Mesothelioma Middle Aged Mining Occupational Exposure Pleural Neoplasms Retrospective Studies

  More +
• Source:
  Environ Health Perspect. 2007; 115(4):579-585.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Montana
• Volume:
  115
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031410
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6c6778137818b39a2daffc034f89871654ba3086b7d2c7068a7dc0946bc0d298890497c5df9583bec8ae0084899752c19ef92ed9dd516f604b738dac784cd6a2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/3898/cdc_3898_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 529.77 KB ]