Asbestos related health hazards among power plant workers

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos related health hazards among power plant workers, by Y. Lerman, A. Finkelstein, Y. Levo, et al (British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1990).

The study

• Authors: Y. Lerman, A. Finkelstein, Y. Levo, M. Tupilsky, M. Baratz, A. Solomon, G. Sackstein
• Journal: British Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1990;47(4):281-2
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 8 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 000026).

In plain English

This short article reported two cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma in men who had worked at the same electric power plant. The first man, aged 72, had worked at the plant for 31 years as a clerk, until seven years before admission. No history of asbestos exposure outside the plant was obtained. A CT scan showed a calcified pleural plaque, which the authors took to indicate asbestos exposure in the remote past. A pleural biopsy was interpreted as consistent with cellular fibrous mesothelioma. He died seven months later from respiratory failure. The second man, aged 54, had been an insulator worker at the plant for 31 years. A biopsy showed malignant epithelial mesothelioma, and he received drug treatment. Four months later, malignant mesothelial cells were found in fluid from his abdomen. He died 12 months later from respiratory failure. The authors described the clerk's exposure as low level and long term. They concluded that the cases emphasised the need for population based studies of power plant workers to measure the risk accurately. The article did not name any asbestos fiber type.

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: Case report (two cases)
• Who was studied: Two men from the same electric power plant: a 72 year old retired clerk who had worked there for 31 years, and a 54 year old insulator worker who had worked there for 31 years. The authors were based in Tel Aviv, Israel. The article does not state the plant's location or the dates of the cases.
• Exposure: Work in an electric power plant. The first patient, a clerk, had no asbestos exposure reported other than at the plant, and the authors described his exposure as low level and long term. The second patient was an insulator worker. No fiber types or doses were given.
• Main results:
  • Case 1 (clerk): CT showed a calcified pleural plaque on the right, which the authors said indicated asbestos exposure in the remote past.
  • Case 1: pleural biopsy findings were interpreted as consistent with cellular fibrous mesothelioma.
  • Case 1: the patient died seven months later from respiratory failure.
  • Case 2 (insulator worker): biopsy of the pleural mass showed malignant epithelial mesothelioma.
  • Case 2: four months later, ascitic (abdominal) fluid showed malignant mesothelial cells. The patient died 12 months later from respiratory failure.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the cases emphasise the need for population based studies among power plant workers to evaluate the risk accurately.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma, Power plants and utilities.

Related studies

• Extrapulmonary neoplasms among asbestos-exposed power plant workers — I.G. Ron, H. Ron, et al. (1999)
• Malignant mesothelioma in thermoelectric power plant workers in Italy — P. Crosignani, F. Forastiere, et al. (1995)
• Mortality among workers in the geothermal power plants at Larderello, Italy — E. Pira, M. Turbiglio, et al. (1999)
• Occupational exposures during routine activities in coal-fueled power plants — M.J. Bird, D.L. MacIntosh, et al. (2004)
• Occupational exposure to asbestos during renovation of oil-shale fuelled power plants in Estonia — M. Kangur (2007)
• Exposure to airborne asbestos in thermal power plants in Mongolia — N. Damiran, E.K. Silbergeld, et al. (2015)

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