Asbestos-related pleural disease in Western Australian gold-miners

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos-related pleural disease in Western Australian gold-miners, by Y.C. Lee, N.H. De Klerk, A.W. Musk (The Medical Journal of Australia, 1999).

The study

• Authors: Y.C. Lee, N.H. De Klerk, A.W. Musk
• Journal: The Medical Journal of Australia
• Published: 1999;170(6):263-5
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Three retired gold-mine workers from Western Australia (WA) were diagnose with asbestos-related pleural disease (two with pleural plaques and one with mesothelioma). Asbestos fibres have been found in air samples from WA gold-mines, and all three patients had worked in these mines (for five to 17 years) and had no other significant known asbestos exposure. To our knowledge, this is the first report of asbestos-related disease in gold-mine workers.

In plain English

This was a report of three cases, not a study of how often disease occurs. Three retired men in Western Australia, who had worked in the state's gold mines for five to 17 years, were diagnosed with asbestos-related pleural disease: two with pleural plaques and one with malignant mesothelioma. A 64-year-old former underground machine-miner had two pleural plaques with minor pleural thickening. A 62-year-old former underground labourer had calcified plaques on both sides. This man had also occasionally cut asbestos cement sheets during house renovations, which the authors considered unlikely to explain the plaques. A 75-year-old former Big Bell gold-mine worker had sarcomatous malignant mesothelioma. No asbestos bodies were found in the sputum, lung-washing or airway samples tested. The diagnoses came 37 to 44 years after the men first worked in the mines. The authors found no other significant asbestos exposure but could not completely rule it out. They stated that the cases did not prove a cause. They said the cases raised the possibility that prolonged exposure to airborne asbestos fibres in gold-mining may be enough to cause these diseases, and they called for further study.

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 of three patients (case series)
• Who was studied: Three retired male gold-mine workers in Western Australia, seen in 1994, 1995 and 1998
• Exposure: Work in Western Australian gold mines (five to 17 years), with possible asbestos contamination of gold-mine dust; no other significant known asbestos exposure
• Main results:
  • All three patients had worked in the gold mines for five to 17 years and had no other significant known asbestos exposure
  • Patient 1 (64 years old) had worked 17 years as an underground machine-miner in a Kalgoorlie gold mine
  • Patient 1 had two pleural plaques with minor pleural thickening and no calcification
  • Patient 2 (62 years old) had worked eight years underground as a labourer in a gold mine
  • Patient 2 had bilateral calcified pleural plaques
  • Patient 2 also occasionally cut asbestos cement sheets while renovating houses; the authors considered this unlikely to be sufficient cause for the plaques
  • Patient 3 (75 years old) had worked in the Big Bell gold mines and was diagnosed with sarcomatous malignant mesothelioma
  • No asbestos bodies were found in the samples tested from the patients (sputum in Patient 1, bronchoalveolar lavage in Patient 2, bronchial washings in Patient 3)
  • Time from first gold-mine work to diagnosis was 42 and 37 years for the pleural plaques and 44 years for the mesothelioma
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the cases did not prove a causal relationship. In their view, the cases raised the possibility that prolonged exposure to airborne asbestos fibres in gold-mining may be sufficient to cause asbestos-related pleural diseases, and further assessment is needed.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors could not categorically rule out unidentified asbestos exposure, though they judged it unlikely in all three
  • The authors stated that the cases do not prove a causal relationship

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Pleural plaques and thickening.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos-Related Pleural Disease, Pleural Plaques, Mesothelioma, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Ultra low dose CT screen-detected non-malignant incidental findings in the Western Australian Asbestos Review Programme — C.P. Murray, P.M. Wong, et al. (2016)
• Malignant pleural and peritoneal mesotheliomas in former miners and millers of crocidolite at Wittenoom, Western Australia — G. Berry, N.H. de Klerk, et al. (2004)
• Malignant mesotheliomas in former miners and millers of crocidolite at Wittenoom (Western Australia) after more than 50 years follow-up — G. Berry, A. Reid, et al. (2012)
• Asbestos-related pleural disease due to tremolite associated with progressive loss of lung function: serial observations in 123 miners, family members, and residents of Libby, Montana — A.C. Whitehouse (2004)
• Mortality patterns among hard rock gold miners exposed to an asbestiform mineral — J.D. Gillam, J.M. Dement, et al. (1976)
• Libby Amphibole Disease: Pulmonary Function and CT Abnormalities in Vermiculite Miners — A. Miller, J. Szeinuk, et al. (2018)

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