Asbestos-related disease in employees of a steel mill and a glass bottle manufacturing plant

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos-related disease in employees of a steel mill and a glass bottle manufacturing plant, by R.S. Kronenberg, J.L. Levin, R.F. Dodson, et al (Toxicology and Industrial Health, 1991).

The study

• Authors: R.S. Kronenberg, J.L. Levin, R.F. Dodson, J.G. Garcia, D.E. Griffith
• Journal: Toxicology and Industrial Health
• Published: 1991;7(1-2):73-9
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This preliminary report described blue-collar glass bottle plant and steel mill workers referred to a University of Texas clinic for possible asbestos-related disease. Workers were identified through attorneys, public meetings and fellow workers. Asbestos was used extensively as insulation around heating processes. None was assigned to asbestos work in their usual duties, though some reported occasionally repairing, cutting and shaping it. Fiber types were not known precisely. Of 334 glass plant workers, 91 (27%) had one or more categories of asbestos-related disease. Pleural disease was most common (38 workers). There were 22 with asbestosis, 19 with restrictive lung function and 12 cancers (10 lung, 2 gastrointestinal). Most lavages (lung washings) showed nothing suggestive of asbestos exposure or disease. Fibers found were chrysotile or amosite, mostly chrysotile. Of 898 steel workers screened by April 1990, 157 (17.5%) had asbestos-related disease, including 17 gastrointestinal, 10 lung and 7 laryngeal cancers and one pleural mesothelioma. The authors concluded that asbestos in place at industrial sites constitutes a potential risk. They noted it was not a true cross-sectional study, so true prevalence could not be determined.

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: Preliminary report of clinical screening of referred (not systematically sampled) workers; the authors state it is not a true cross-sectional study
• Who was studied: 334 blue-collar workers from a glass bottle manufacturing plant and 898 steel mill workers (those screened as of April 1990). All were referred to the Occupational Medicine Clinic of the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler. They were identified through attorneys, public meetings and fellow workers. Managers and office staff were not included.
• Exposure: Asbestos in place at the two plants, used extensively as insulation during heating processes. The extent and types used were not known precisely. The workers were also exposed to silica, mixed dusts and other toxins.
• Main results:
  • Work history: none of the workers was assigned to work directly with asbestos as part of their usual duties
  • Work history: workers reported that they occasionally repaired, cut and shaped the asbestos material, which was in various states of deterioration. This was not a significant part of their job.
  • Glass plant workers: 91 of 334 (27%) had one or more categories of asbestos-related disease
  • Glass plant workers: pleural disease was the most common category, in 38 workers (42% of the 91 with asbestos-related disease)
  • Glass plant workers: 22 cases of asbestosis and 12 cancers of the lung, larynx or gastrointestinal tract; of the 12 cancers, 10 were lung and 2 gastrointestinal
  • Glass plant workers: restrictive pulmonary function in 19 workers
  • Glass plant workers: bronchoalveolar lavage was done in 305 of 334. Most lavages showed no findings suggestive of asbestos exposure or disease.
  • Glass plant workers: all asbestos fibers seen in lavage fluid were chrysotile or amosite, the great majority chrysotile
  • Steel mill workers: 157 of 898 (17.5%) had one of the four categories of asbestos-related disease. Restrictive pulmonary function on spirometry was the most common category.
  • Steel mill workers: 17 gastrointestinal, 10 lung and 7 laryngeal cancers
  • Steel mill workers: one case of pleural mesothelioma, diagnosed at autopsy
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the study suggests asbestos in place at industrial sites constitutes a potential risk for asbestos-induced disease.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Not a true cross-sectional study, so the true prevalence of disease at the two plants cannot be determined
  • Fewer than half of the workers came for screening. The authors suggest that selection bias may mean disease was underestimated.
  • Most diagnoses were based on clinical evidence rather than lung tissue
  • The extent of asbestos in the factories and the types used were not known with certainty

Related studies

• Asbestos-related disease in employees of a steel mill and a glass bottle-manufacturing plant — R.S. Kronenberg, J.L. Levin, et al. (1991)
• A case-control study of malignant and non-malignant respiratory disease among employees of a fiberglass manufacturing facility. II. Exposure assessment — L. Chiazze, D.K. Watkins, et al. (1993)
• Cohort study of workers employed in an Italian tire manufacturing plant, 1962-2004 — D. Mirabelli, A.M. Cacciatore, et al. (2012)
• Work environment of plants manufacturing asbestos-containing products in Japan — T. Higashi, H. Hori, et al. (1994)
• Health effects of working in pulp and paper mills: malignant diseases — K. Torén, B. Persson, et al. (1996)
• Mortality from non-malignant respiratory disease in the fibreglass manufacturing industry — L. Chiazze, D.K. Watkins, et al. (2002)

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