Asbestos: facts and fiction

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos: facts and fiction, by B.T. Mossman (Environmental Health Perspectives, 1994).

The study

• Author: B.T. Mossman
• Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives
• Published: 1994;102(5):424-5
• Type of article: Letter, Review
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This is a letter to the editor, not a research study, and presents no new data. It responded to a position paper by David P. Rall criticizing a 1990 Science article the author co-wrote. The author stated that the 1990 article reviewed papers and two international symposia concluding that chrysotile fibers are less active than amphibole types (crocidolite, amosite, tremolite) in causing mesothelioma in humans. The author argued that insulation workers and family members had mixed chrysotile and amphibole exposures at much higher concentrations than asbestos levels in homes and public buildings today. The author cited publications said to support a threshold for chrysotile in lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. The author also described the author's earlier cell work, which found no proto-oncogene induction at the lowest fiber concentrations tested and greater potency for crocidolite than chrysotile. The author questioned asbestos removal from schools and public buildings and stated that the author's research was funded by federal grants, never by the asbestos industry. The author concluded by calling for more scientific data and for prevention and treatment of asbestos-related diseases.

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: letter to the editor (correspondence) responding to a position paper; not an original study
• Exposure: chrysotile compared with amphibole asbestos (crocidolite, amosite, tremolite), discussed in relation to mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases
• Main results:
  • The author stated that the 1990 Science article reported on peer-reviewed papers and two international symposia, all concluding that chrysotile fibers are less active than amphibole types in causing mesothelioma in humans (these are conclusions of other sources, not new findings)
  • The author argued that insulation workers and family members had mixed exposures to chrysotile and amphiboles at much higher concentrations than asbestos levels in homes and public buildings today
  • The author cited other publications said to support a threshold for chrysotile in lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. The author also cited a Health Effects Institute-Asbestos Research panel report describing no-observed adverse effect levels in animal and in vitro studies
  • The author described the author's own earlier published work. It showed a dose-dependent increase in asbestos-induced proto-oncogene activation in mesothelial cells, no induction at the lowest fiber concentrations tested, and greater potency of crocidolite than chrysotile
  • The author questioned the consequences of asbestos abatement from schools and public buildings and possible dangers to asbestos-removal workers
  • The author stated that the author's asbestos research had been supported by federal grants and never by the asbestos industry. The author also stated that the author had never been an expert witness in asbestos litigation
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that opponents should focus on obtaining scientific data rather than allegations. The author called for continued preventive medicine and for developing therapeutic measures for asbestos-related diseases

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• Facts and fiction: premalignant lesions of lung tissues — S. Klebe, D.W. Henderson (2013)
• Facts, rumours and speculations about the mesothelioma epidemic — J.P. van Meerbeeck, R. Damhuis (2011)
• Malignant mesothelioma: facts, myths, and hypotheses — M. Carbone, B.H. Ly, et al. (2012)
• Asbestosis mortality in the USA: facts and predictions — V.C. Antao, G.A. Pinheiro, et al. (2009)
• Asbestos as a hazard to health. Fact and speculation — W.C. Cooper (1967)
• Mesothelioma pathogenesis, facts and expectations — M.C. Jaurand (2005)

Browse more research in Environmental Health Perspectives, or return to medical research.