Asbestos content of lung tissue, lymph nodes, and pleural plaques from former shipyard workers

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos content of lung tissue, lymph nodes, and pleural plaques from former shipyard workers, by R.F. Dodson, M.G. Williams, C.J. Corn, et al (The American Review of Respiratory Disease, 1990).

The study

• Authors: R.F. Dodson, M.G. Williams, C.J. Corn, A. Brollo, C. Bianchi
• Journal: The American Review of Respiratory Disease
• Published: 1990;142(4):843-7
• Cited by: 95 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. 003749).

Abstract

Autopsy samples from eight former shipyard workers were collected from lung parenchyma, tracheal lymph nodes, and pleural plaques. The tissue from each respective area was prepared by a modified bleach digestion technique, and the residue was collected on a 0.2-micron pore polycarbonate or 0.22-micron mixed cellulose ester filter. Quantitation of ferruginous bodies and uncoated fibers was done by light and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. Differences in the asbestos burden were noted for each site. Ferruginous bodies were observed in both parenchyma and nodes but not in plaques. Three subjects were found to have more ferruginous bodies per gram dry weight in their lymph nodes than in their lung parenchyma. Likewise, all subjects were found to have more uncoated fibers per gram in the nodes than in the parenchyma. Amphibole and chrysotile fibers were noted in the lung and extrapulmonary sites, with chrysotile being the predominant asbestiform in plaques. The majority of the uncoated fibers in both the nodes and the plaques were less than or equal to 5 microns in length. However, some fibers with dimensions conforming to the "Stanton hypothesis" reached both areas. These residual patterns most likely reflect the impact of clearance on lung burden as opposed to the eventual accumulation and stasis in the extrapulmonary areas.

In plain English

This study measured asbestos in tissue taken at autopsy from eight former shipyard workers, aged 58 to 82, at the General Hospital of Monfalcone, a shipyard town in northeastern Italy. Seven had work histories of 6 to 46 years in shipyard activities. For each person, the authors compared lung tissue, tracheal lymph nodes and parietal pleural plaques. They counted ferruginous (asbestos) bodies by light microscopy and uncoated fibers by transmission electron microscopy. Ferruginous bodies were found in lungs and lymph nodes but none in plaques. All subjects had more uncoated fibers per gram in their lymph nodes than in their lung tissue. Chrysotile was the predominant fiber type in plaques, and amphibole fibers were also found at all three sites. Fibers in nodes and plaques were significantly shorter than in the lung. In the lung, 41% of amphibole fibers were longer than 5 micrometers, compared with 6% in nodes and 10% in plaques. Some longer fibers matching the "Stanton hypothesis" dimensions reached both nodes and plaques. The authors concluded that these patterns most likely reflect clearance from the lung, compared with accumulation in the nodes and plaques.

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: autopsy tissue study (fiber burden analysis in a case series of eight people)
• Who was studied: eight former shipyard workers aged 58 to 82 at autopsy, necropsied at the General Hospital of Monfalcone, northeastern Italy; dates not stated
• Exposure: occupational asbestos exposure in shipyard work (seven had 6 to 46 years); chrysotile and amphibole fibers measured in lung, tracheal lymph nodes and pleural plaques
• Main results:
  • In seven of the eight subjects, lung tissue contained 1,120 to 853,000 ferruginous bodies per gram dry weight
  • In these seven subjects, total uncoated asbestos fibers in lung ranged from 830,000 to 192,000,000 per gram dry tissue
  • No ferruginous bodies were found in pleural plaques; three subjects had more ferruginous bodies per gram dry weight in lymph nodes than in lung
  • All subjects had more uncoated fibers per gram in lymph nodes than in lung tissue
  • The highest uncoated fiber concentration was in the lymph nodes in six subjects and in the plaques in two subjects
  • Chrysotile was the predominant asbestos type in plaques
  • Chrysotile fibers longer than 5 micrometers: none in nodes, 3.1% in plaques, 14% in lung
  • Amphibole fibers longer than 5 micrometers: 10% in plaques, 6% in nodes, 41% in lung
  • Both fiber types were significantly shorter in plaques and nodes than in lung (p less than 0.00005)
  • Some amphibole fibers longer than 10 micrometers were found in nodes (2.5%) and plaques (8%)
  • Some fibers with dimensions matching the "Stanton hypothesis" reached both nodes and plaques
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the patterns most likely reflect the effect of clearance on the lung burden, compared with eventual accumulation and stasis in the lymph nodes and plaques
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The study was not designed to address whether long or short fibers are more toxic
  • The authors note that nothing is known about the effect of short fibers outside the lung

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Plaques, Autopsy, Parenchyma, Mixed Cellulose Ester Filter, Ferruginous Bodies, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fibers Per Gram, Amphibole Group.

Related studies

• A comparison of asbestos burden in lung parenchyma, lymph nodes, and plaques — R.F. Dodson, M.G. Williams, et al. (1991)
• Pleural mesothelioma in a woman whose documented past exposure to asbestos was from smoking asbestos-containing filtered cigarettes: the comparative value of analytical transmission electron microscopic analysis of lung and lymph-node tissue — R.F. Dodson, S.P. Hammar (2006)
• Asbestos content in the lymph nodes of nonoccupationally exposed individuals — R.F. Dodson, J. Huang, et al. (2000)
• Asbestos fibers in para-aortic and mesenteric lymph nodes — T. Uibu, E. Vanhala, et al. (2009)
• Characteristics of asbestos concentration in lung as compared to asbestos concentration in various levels of lymph nodes that collect drainage from the lung — R.F. Dodson, S. Shepherd, et al. (2007)
• Intrapulmonary lymph nodes. Clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features — R.L. Kradin, P.W. Spirn, et al. (1985)

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