Aspects of asbestos exposure in place in the Federal Republic of Germany

Our plain-English summary of Aspects of asbestos exposure in place in the Federal Republic of Germany, by H.J. Woitowitz (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1991).

The study

• Author: H.J. Woitowitz
• Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• Published: 1991;643:407-11
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 004490).

In plain English

This brief paper by the author described experiences with asbestos in place in the Federal Republic of Germany. It reported that the number of accepted and compensated cases of asbestos-related lung cancer and mesothelioma was a quarter to a half of the number of reported ("indicated") cases, and that mesothelioma cases were increasing steeply. It listed government rules, including the 1990 lowering of workplace limits for chrysotile from 1.0 to 0.25 fibers/ml and for crocidolite from 0.5 to 0.05 fibers/ml. The author's own study measured asbestos fibers longer than 5 micrometers in the lungs of 45 people with no indication of workplace asbestos exposure: 15 autopsy cases and 30 lung surgery patients. The estimated upper limits of the normal range were 150,000 fibers per gram of dry lung for amphiboles, 250,000 for chrysotile and 300,000 for all asbestos fibers. For ferruginous bodies, the upper limit in the surgery group was about 3,000 per gram, which the author called high compared to international results. The author noted that the autopsy cases were screened only by job title. The author also noted that other dust exposures were not ruled out in the surgery group. The paper also briefly described findings by other researchers in Hamburg.

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: Brief report: an overview of German compensation statistics and regulations, plus the author's group's lung tissue fiber-burden study of a reference group without occupational asbestos exposure (STEM analysis)
• Who was studied: 45 people in Germany with no indication of workplace asbestos exposure: 15 autopsy cases (group 1) and 30 patients undergoing lung operations (group 2). Dates are not given.
• Exposure: Non-occupational lung burden of asbestos fibers longer than 5 micrometers (all asbestos, chrysotile and amphibole fibers) and of ferruginous bodies, per gram of dry lung tissue. Also reviewed: German workplace limits for chrysotile and crocidolite, and rules on removing spray asbestos from public buildings.
• Main results:
  • In the 45-person reference group, the upper limits of the normal range (95th percentile) were up to 150,000 fibers per gram of dry lung for amphiboles, 250,000 for chrysotile and 300,000 for all asbestos fibers.
  • In the reference group, there was only a weak correlation between high chrysotile and high amphibole concentrations.
  • Ferruginous body concentrations in group 1 (autopsy cases) were about four times lower than in group 2 (surgery patients). The upper limit of normal for group 2 was about 3,000 ferruginous bodies per gram of dried lung, which the author described as high compared to international results.
  • In Germany, the number of accepted and compensated cases of asbestos-related lung cancer and mesothelioma was a quarter to a half of the number of indicated cases.
  • In 1990, German workplace limit values were lowered for chrysotile from 1.0 to 0.25 fibers/ml and for crocidolite from 0.5 to 0.05 fibers/ml.
• The authors' conclusion: The author did not state an overall conclusion. The author wrote that the outcome of the third wave of asbestos diseases could not yet be clearly answered.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • For the 15 autopsy cases, asbestos exposure could be ruled out only by job designation.
  • General dust exposure other than asbestos was not excluded in group 2, so the specificity of ferruginous body counting with regard to asbestos cores is open to question.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Asbestos-related diseases in the Federal Republic of Germany — H.J. Woitowitz, L. Beierl, et al. (1981)
• Asbestos use and carcinogenicity in Germany and a comparison with animal studies — F. Pott (1994)
• A review of the federal government's health activities in response to asbestos-contaminated ore found in Libby, Montana — K. Horton, V. Kapil, et al. (2006)
• Identification and enumeration of asbestos fibers in the mining environment: mission and modification to the Federal Asbestos Standard — A.M. Langer (2008)
• A Review of the Talc Industry's Influence on Federal Regulation and Scientific Standards for Asbestos in Talc — T. Bird, J.E. Steffen, et al. (2021)
• Implementation of the federal asbestos standard in Connecticut — J.B. Schoenberg, C.A. Mitchell (1974)

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