Asbestos, mesothelioma and the legacy of shipbuilding in Belfast

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos, mesothelioma and the legacy of shipbuilding in Belfast, by P.J. Morrison (The Ulster Medical Journal, 2008).

The study

• Author: P.J. Morrison
• Journal: The Ulster Medical Journal
• Published: 2008;77(3):145
• Type of article: Comment, Editorial, Historical article
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Free full text

In plain English

This was a one-page editorial by the journal's honorary editor, reporting no new data. The editorial recalled that in 1935 Campbell and Young reported three cases of 'mixed cell sarcomas' of the pleura, with no occupational, social or family history listed. It stated that 1996 re-analysis showed all three were mesotheliomas, and that occupational exposure was not recognised when they were first reported. It stated, with no reference number attached directly to the figure, that the proportional mortality rate for asbestosis among former shipyard workers was sixteen times the average of other occupations. It introduced a same-issue Hedley-Whyte article on World War II shipbuilding and asbestos-containing US incendiary bombs. The author suggested that the 1941 bombing of Belfast potentially increased local asbestos exposure. The author noted that mesothelioma can occur in the peritoneum and that there may be a genetic susceptibility, including in carriers of neurofibromatosis type 2. The author concluded that Belfast's shipbuilding legacy has ensured that far more people will die of asbestos-induced diseases than died in last-century shipwrecks such as the Titanic, or from injuries sustained in manufacturing ships.

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: editorial (commentary; no original data)
• Who was studied: No study population. The editorial discussed Belfast shipbuilding and recalled three pleural tumour cases reported in Belfast in 1935.
• Exposure: Asbestos in shipbuilding (fiber types not named). The editorial also raised possible exposure of the local population from destroyed asbestos-containing buildings and fires during the 1941 bombing of Belfast.
• Main results:
  • The editorial recounted that the three 1935 cases had no occupational, social or family history listed.
  • The editorial stated that the three 1935 cases were re-analysed in 1996 with immunohistochemistry and shown to be mesotheliomas (described as 'mesotheliomas of the lung').
  • The editorial stated that occupational exposure was not recognised at the time of the original 1935 cases.
  • The editorial stated that the proportional mortality rate for asbestosis among former shipyard workers is sixteen times the average of other occupations. No reference number is attached directly to this figure; the nearest one (reference 3) appears just before it in the same sentence, after the preceding clause.
  • The editorial introduced an article by Hedley-Whyte in the same issue on World War II shipbuilding as a cause of asbestos malignancies, and on US incendiary bombs containing asbestos possibly spreading the risk through air-raids.
  • The editorial noted that mesothelioma can occur in the peritoneum and other sites.
  • The editorial noted that there may be a genetic susceptibility in carriers of certain genes, including neurofibromatosis type 2.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that Belfast's legacy as a high-output shipyard has ensured that far more people will die of asbestos-induced diseases than died in shipwrecks such as the Titanic in the last century, or from occupational injuries sustained in manufacturing ships.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma, Shipyards and maritime work.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Asbestos and ship-building: fatal consequences — J. Hedley-Whyte, D.R. Milamed (2008)
• Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding — J.K. Corn, J. Starr (1987)
• Insulation workers in Belfast. A further study of mortality due to asbestos exposure (1940-75) — P.C. Elmes, M.J. Simpson (1977)
• Insulation workers in Belfast. 3. Mortality 1940-66 — P.C. Elmes, M.J. Simpson (1971)
• Relationship between exposure to asbestos and pleural malignancy in Belfast — P.C. Elmes, O.L. Wade (1965)
• Insulation workers in Belfast. 1. Comparison of a random sample with a control population — W.F. Wallace, J.H. Langlands (1971)

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