A study of fibrous aerosols in the home environment in Sosnowiec, Poland

Our plain-English summary of A study of fibrous aerosols in the home environment in Sosnowiec, Poland, by J.S. Pastuszka, A. Kabala-Dzik, K.T. Paw (The Science of the Total Environment, 1999).

The study

• Authors: J.S. Pastuszka, A. Kabala-Dzik, K.T. Paw
• Journal: The Science of the Total Environment
• Published: 1999;229(1-2):131-6
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

This work constitutes the first report on the concentration of airborne respirable fibers, and their length distribution in different groups of homes in Sosnowiec, Poland. The measurements have been made by using the MIE Laser Fiber Monitor FM-7400. Mean concentration level of the respirable fibers, longer than 5 microns, ranged from 350 m-3 through 910 m-3 up to 1020 m-3 in the homes located in suburban areas, near the busy streets, and in the buildings covered with asbestos-cement sheets, respectively. These results indicate the outdoor asbestos-containing materials as the main sources of airborne fibers inside the Sosnowiec dwellings.

In plain English

This short communication reported airborne fiber measurements in 29 homes in Sosnowiec, an industrial city in southern Poland. The homes were in three groups: buildings covered with asbestos-cement sheets (Group I), buildings without such sheets but near busy streets (Group II), and a suburban control group (Group III). A laser fiber monitor measured respirable fibers longer than 5 micrometres over 24 hours in each living room. Mean concentrations were 1020 fibers per cubic metre in Group I, 910 in Group II and 350 in Group III. The authors described the Group II level as significantly higher than the controls. In Group I, the lowest level, 500, was in a home covered 4 years earlier, and the highest, 1700, was in one covered 15 years earlier. In five Group I homes, the bathroom level was a little more than half the living-room level. The authors concluded that the main sources of these indoor fibers were outdoor asbestos-containing materials. They proposed about 350 fibers per cubic metre as the town's background level. They wrote that asbestos probably made up most fibers in Groups I and II, but that the fibers still needed identifying by electron microscopy.

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: Short communication reporting an indoor air measurement survey: 24-hour fiber counts in homes, using a laser fiber monitor
• Who was studied: 29 dwellings in Sosnowiec, Poland, in three groups: buildings covered with asbestos-cement sheets (Group I), buildings without such sheets but near busy streets (Group II), and suburban control homes (Group III). The number of homes per group and the dates of measurement are not given.
• Exposure: Airborne respirable fibers longer than 5 micrometres in indoor air (living rooms), measured with a MIE Laser Fiber Monitor FM-7400. The fibers were not identified by type.
• Main results:
  • Mean concentration in Group I (buildings covered with asbestos-cement sheets) was 1020 fibers per cubic metre, almost three times higher than in the Group III control dwellings (350 fibers per cubic metre).
  • Mean concentration in Group II (near busy streets) was 910 fibers per cubic metre. The authors called this significantly higher than in the control homes; no statistical test is reported.
  • In Group I, the lowest concentration (500 fibers per cubic metre) was in a home covered with asbestos-cement sheets 4 years earlier. The highest (1700 fibers per cubic metre) was in one covered 15 years earlier.
  • In five Group I homes, measurements were also made in a kitchen and a bathroom.
  • In these Group I homes, the living room had the highest level and the kitchen a lower level. The bathroom had the lowest mean level, a little more than one-half of the living-room level.
  • In Group I dwellings, the fiber length distribution peaked in the 3 to 6 micrometre range, representing 70% of the total concentration.
  • In Groups I and II, a peak was observed in the 4 to 5 micrometre length range.
  • In the Group III control homes, a peak was observed in the 3 to 4 micrometre length range.
  • The authors proposed about 350 fibers per cubic metre as the background (normal) indoor level of respirable fibers longer than 5 micrometres in the town.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the main sources of airborne fibers in Sosnowiec homes were outdoor asbestos-containing materials. This was their inference: the fibers themselves were not identified as asbestos.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that asbestos probably made up most of the fibers in the first two groups of buildings, but that the fibers still needed to be identified using an electron microscope with an X-ray analyzer.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Respirable Fiber, Asbestos-Cement, Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM).

Related studies

• Emission of airborne fibers from mechanically impacted asbestos-cement sheets and concentration of fibrous aerosol in the home environment in Upper Silesia, Poland — J.S. Pastuszka (2009)
• A healthy home environment? — J. Manuel (1999)
• Estimation of fibrous aerosol deposition in upper bronchi based on experimental data with model bifurcation — T. Myojo, M. Takaya (2001)
• Airborne exposure concentrations during asbestos abatement of ceiling and wall plaster — J.H. Lange, K.W. Thomulka (2002)
• Increasing incidence of malignant mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos during home maintenance and renovation — N.J. Olsen, P.J. Franklin, et al. (2011)
• Asbestos exposure during home renovation in New South Wales — E.K. Park, D.H. Yates, et al. (2013)

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