Asbestos

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos, by L.T. Fairhall (1957).

The study

• Author: L.T. Fairhall
• Published: Industrial Toxicology, 2Nd Edition, Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, Pp. 19-21 (1957)
• Type of article: Book excerpt
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library, J-M no. 002609.

In plain English

This is a three-page entry on asbestos from the 1957 second edition of the textbook Industrial Toxicology, by L.T. Fairhall. It is not an original study. The author summarized existing knowledge and earlier published work. The entry described the types of asbestos and their industrial uses. It reported United States consumption in 1951 as 796,992 short tons and said that in 1944 the largest single outlet for asbestos in manufactured products was clutch facings. It stated that inhaling asbestos dust produces asbestosis, an interstitial pulmonary fibrosis whose X-ray shadows resemble ground glass. Citing other investigators, the author reported three findings. Lynch and Cannon, studying 40 cases of asbestosis at necropsy, found support for the belief that fibrosis does not progress indefinitely after exposure stops. Cartier found asbestosis only in workers employed at least 14 years and exposed to air containing at least 5 million fibrous particles, 10 to 250 microns long, per cubic foot. Doll concluded from 105 necropsies of people employed at an asbestos works that lung cancer is a specific hazard of asbestos workers. The scanned text was badly scrambled.

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: textbook chapter entry (a review of existing knowledge and cited studies; no original research)
• Who was studied: No study population of its own; the entry discusses workers in industrial plants where asbestos is fabricated, drawing on cited studies
• Exposure: Inhalation of asbestos dust; the entry describes chrysotile (from serpentine) and amphibole asbestos (anthophyllite), and mentions tremolite in the section on microscopy
• Main results:
  • The entry reported United States asbestos consumption for 1951 as 796,992 short tons, citing a Bureau of Mines yearbook
  • The entry reported that in 1944 the largest single outlet for asbestos in manufactured products was clutch facings, with brake linings next
  • The entry described the primary effect of inhaling asbestos dust as an interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, with X-ray shadows resembling ground glass, usually over the lower lung fields and often heavier on the right side (citing reference 2)
  • The entry listed four main complications of pulmonary asbestosis, citing Gloyne and Merewether: purulent bronchitis, bronchial pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis and emphysema
  • Citing Lynch and Cannon, the entry reported that a study of 40 cases of asbestosis at necropsy found support for the belief that fibrosis does not progress indefinitely after exposure ends
  • Citing reference 2, the entry stated that it would appear new cases of asbestosis would not arise if dust in asbestos factories were kept below 5 million particles per cubic foot
  • Citing Cartier, the entry reported that cases of asbestosis were found only in those employed for at least 14 years and exposed to air containing at least 5 million fibrous particles, 10 to 250 microns long, per cubic foot
  • Citing Doll, the entry reported that a study of 105 necropsies of individuals employed at an asbestos works concluded that lung cancer is a specific hazard of asbestos workers
• The authors' conclusion: The entry does not state an overall conclusion of its own; its statements on disease and dust levels are attributed to the works it cites

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Interstitial, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Autopsy, Fibrosis, Lung Cancer.

Browse return to medical research.