A methodology for identifying workers exposed to asbestos since 1940

Our plain-English summary of A methodology for identifying workers exposed to asbestos since 1940, by M. Stanbury, K.D. Rosenman (American Journal of Public Health, 1987).

The study

• Authors: M. Stanbury, K.D. Rosenman
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health
• Published: 1987;77(7):854-5
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 001000).

Abstract

This paper describes a method to identify individual workplaces and to determine the number of employees at those workplaces who have had substantial exposure to asbestos. A total of 486,400 individuals are estimated to have had substantial exposure to asbestos in New Jersey since the start of World War II, including 102,700 individuals from 16 manufacturing plants, 376,200 from eight shipyards, and 7,500 insulators.

In plain English

This short report described a way to identify New Jersey workplaces where people had substantial asbestos exposure since the start of World War II, and to estimate how many employees were exposed. The authors used state labor records and state industrial directories to find asbestos manufacturing companies and shipyards with more than 100 employees, and counted insulators through their union. They estimated exposed workers from annual employment, subtracting one-third for non-exposed management and adding estimated yearly new hires up to 1980 at most. They identified 16 major asbestos manufacturing plants, where about 102,700 persons were estimated to have been exposed from 1940 to 1979, and eight major shipyards, where about 376,200 workers were. About 7,500 insulators were estimated to have been exposed, for a total of 486,400. The authors said these figures underestimate the number exposed, because secondary users of asbestos products were left out, as were construction workers other than union insulators. They concluded the method could be applied in other states as a first step toward notifying people at risk.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Descriptive estimation study (public health brief) using employment records and industrial directories to identify and count exposed worker groups
• Who was studied: Workers at New Jersey asbestos manufacturing companies (SIC codes 3292 and 3293) and shipyards (SIC code 3731) with more than 100 employees, plus members of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers. Only males were counted, except in asbestos textile plants. The period covered was 1940 to 1979.
• Exposure: Asbestos exposure in asbestos product manufacturing, shipbuilding and insulation work. No fiber types were specified. The number exposed was estimated from annual employment, minus one-third for non-exposed management, plus estimated annual new hires.
• Main results:
  • 16 major asbestos manufacturing plants were identified. About 102,700 persons were estimated to have been exposed in them from 1940 to 1979, about 20 per cent of the nationwide total estimated by Nicholson.
  • 8 major shipyards were located. About 376,200 workers were calculated to have been exposed in them during that time, about 6 per cent of Nicholson's nationwide estimate.
  • About 7,500 asbestos insulators in New Jersey were estimated to have been exposed, about 4 per cent of the national estimate.
  • In total, 486,400 individuals in New Jersey were estimated to have had substantial exposure to asbestos since the start of World War II.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the method is applicable to other states and can be considered a first step in a program to notify individuals at risk of asbestos-related diseases.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The estimates undercount the number exposed, because secondary users of asbestos products were not included, and neither were construction workers other than union insulators.
  • Almost no shipyard employment data were available from 1940 until about 1950, so new hires for that period were estimated with a fixed 30 per cent factor applied to 1940 employment.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Insulator.

Related studies

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• A comprehensive multidisciplinary approach for identifying asbestos exposure among underground workers — A. Salvado, L. Capone, et al. (2024)
• Estimation of Occupational Exposure to Asbestos in Italy by the Linkage of Mesothelioma Registry (ReNaM) and National Insurance Archives. Methodology and Results — C. Airoldi, D. Ferrante, et al. (2020)
• Risk of cancer from occupational exposure to ionising radiation: retrospective cohort study of workers in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States (INWORKS) — D.B. Richardson, E. Cardis, et al. (2015)
• Cancer risk after cessation of asbestos exposure: a cohort study of Italian asbestos cement workers — C. Magnani, D. Ferrante, et al. (2008)
• Cohort mortality study of pulp and paper mill workers in British Columbia, Canada — P.R. Band, N.D. Le, et al. (1997)

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