An asbestos hazard in the reprocessed textile industry

Our plain-English summary of An asbestos hazard in the reprocessed textile industry, by M.M. Quinn, D. Kriebel, E. Buiatti, et al (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1987).

The study

• Authors: M.M. Quinn, D. Kriebel, E. Buiatti, E. Paci, S. Sini, G. Vannucchi, M. Zappa
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1987;11(3):255-66
• Cited by: 26 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 000993).

Abstract

Epidemiologic studies have identified an excess risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma among workers in the reprocessed textile industry in Prato, Italy. These studies suggested that there may have been asbestos hazard in this industry although exposure was not known to exist. An industrial hygiene investigation was conducted to determine whether there was previous or current asbestos exposure in the industry. Walk-through surveys, environmental sampling, process documentation, and management and worker interviews were conducted in 13 textile reprocessing establishments. Polypropylene bags that once contained asbestos were found in 2 of the 13. Asbestos bags were cut open and used to cover bales of rags which were then distributed throughout the world. Workers were exposed to asbestos while handling the bags which were contaminated with chrysotile, amosite, and crocidolite. Additional sources of asbestos exposure that may have existed in the past in the industry are also discussed.

In plain English

Earlier studies had found excess lung cancer and mesothelioma among workers in the reprocessed textile industry of Prato, Italy. In July 1985 the authors carried out an industrial hygiene investigation to look for past or current asbestos exposure. They surveyed 13 workplaces: ten rag-sorting shops (cernite), one carbonizzo, one dyeing plant and one wool-shredding plant. In the largest sorting shop they found more than 1,500 polypropylene bags that had each held 40 to 50 kilograms of asbestos. Labelled asbestos bags were also found in one other shop. Workers cut the bags open and wrapped them around bales of rags and second-hand clothing, and a cloud of asbestos dust formed as each bale was pressed. No protective equipment was worn. Most bags held chrysotile, but amosite and crocidolite were also found. The press operator's breathing-zone sample had a total fiber concentration of 0.8 fibers/cc; asbestos was confirmed in it. The authors concluded that historical evidence suggests the excess cancers resulted from recycling or direct use of asbestos in earlier decades. They left open whether this bag exposure was responsible.

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: Industrial hygiene investigation (walk-through surveys, environmental sampling, process documentation, and management and worker interviews). It was prompted by earlier epidemiologic findings of excess lung cancer and mesothelioma in the Prato reprocessed textile industry, and looked for past or current asbestos exposure.
• Who was studied: 13 textile reprocessing establishments in Prato, Italy, in July 1985: ten cernite (rag-sorting shops), one carbonizzo, one tintoria (dyeing) and one stracciatura (shredding). The most extensive surveys were at the largest cernita, with about 20 employees.
• Exposure: Recycled polypropylene bags that had held asbestos, cut open and used to wrap bales of rags and clothing. The bags were mostly contaminated with chrysotile, with amosite and crocidolite also found.
• Main results:
  • More than 1,500 bags that had each contained 40 to 50 kilograms of asbestos were found in the largest cernita (the cernita prima).
  • The recycled asbestos bags were used as covers for bales of rags and second-hand clothing shipped to other sorting shops.
  • A cloud of asbestos dust formed as each bale was compressed.
  • No respiratory or other personal protective equipment was worn.
  • The press operator's breathing-zone sample had a total fiber concentration of 0.8 fibers/cc. This figure was for total fibers, not asbestos alone. The presence of asbestos was confirmed separately in the same sample.
  • Asbestos fibers were identified in the breathing-zone sample of the worker cutting the bags. A total fiber concentration could not be determined for this sample.
  • Chrysotile, amosite and crocidolite were identified in dust taken from the clothing of the workers cutting and pressing the bags.
  • Labelled asbestos bags were also found in a second establishment, a cernita seconda. The bag and a wipe sample of the rags inside it contained chrysotile.
  • Similar unlabelled bags were found in all other shops inspected. Samples from a random selection of these bags contained no detectable asbestos.
  • Bag cutters and press operators reported respiratory and skin irritation from the dust.
  • None of the workers or foremen interviewed knew there was a source of asbestos in their industry.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that historical evidence suggests the excess lung cancer and mesothelioma in Prato resulted from the recycling or direct use of asbestos in one form or another in previous decades.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Only two breathing-zone samples were collected from the workers cutting and pressing the bags, because these operations were discontinued after the first day of sampling.
  • The cutter's breathing-zone sample was damaged in shipping, so its fiber concentration could not be accurately determined.
  • The authors left open whether the bag exposure they found was responsible for the mesotheliomas and lung cancers seen in the epidemiologic studies.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestos textiles.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, Industrial Hygiene, Asbestos Exposure, Chrysotile, Amosite, Crocidolite.

Related studies

• Malignant mesothelioma in non-asbestos textile workers in Florence — E. Paci, S. Dini, et al. (1987)
• A case-referent study of lung tumors in non-asbestos textile workers — E. Paci, E. Buiatti, et al. (1987)
• Talc pneumoconiosis in the textile industry — B. Mann, J.B. Deasy (1954)
• Further evidence of an excess of risk of pleural malignant mesothelioma in textile workers in Prato (Italy) — E. Paci, M. Zappa, et al. (1991)
• Dust exposure and mortality in an American chrysotile textile plant — A.D. McDonald, J.S. Fry, et al. (1983)
• Follow-up study of chrysotile asbestos textile workers: cohort mortality and case-control analyses — J.M. Dement, D.P. Brown, et al. (1994)

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