Based on available data, can we project an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos? Absolutely

Our plain-English summary of Based on available data, can we project an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos? Absolutely, by K. Robock (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1979).

The study

• Author: K. Robock
• Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• Published: 1979;330:205-10
• 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.

In plain English

This is a short position paper from a 1979 panel, not a new study. The author, writing as a physicist, argued the "absolutely" side of whether an acceptable standard for industrial asbestos use can be set, drawing mostly on other researchers' published and unpublished data plus some of the author's own measurements. Citing these sources, the author reported that in the uncontrolled conditions of the 1920s to 1950s, insulation work (spraying and stripping) had the highest dust levels, with mean values of 50 to 500 fibers/ml and peaks as high as 2000. Modern dust control had brought levels to 2 fibers/ml or below. The author's own measurements put past household exposure at 5 to 30 fibers/ml. The author cited mesothelioma data from McDonald and McDonald and from Ruttner showing excess risk only among insulation workers. The author also cited unpublished animal injection data from Friedrichs as showing a threshold for tumors. The author concluded that a threshold exists, that 2 fibers/ml should be used, and that the limit may lie between 2 and 5 fibers/ml. The author acknowledged that data on past concentrations were not ideal.

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• Design: Panel position paper (opinion/commentary) drawing on previously published and unpublished data, not an original study
• Who was studied: No study population of its own. The author compiled available data, including the author's own findings, on asbestos dust levels in sectors of the asbestos industry (insulation, textile, mines and mills, asbestos cement) and the general environment, and cited other researchers' mesothelioma, lung-fiber and animal data.
• Exposure: Airborne asbestos dust, measured in fibers/ml (and grams per cubic meter), across industry sectors from the 1920s to the 1950s and in present-day controlled conditions. Fiber types are not specified.
• Main results:
  • Citing published sources and the author's unpublished results, insulation work in uncontrolled conditions (1920s to 1950s) had mean concentrations of 50 to 500 fibers/ml, as high as 2000 fibers/ml.
  • With controlled handling and the best dust suppression available, concentrations were reported as equal to or below 2 fibers/ml.
  • The author's own measurements put household exposure (for example, from clothing worn by asbestos workers) at 5 to 30 fibers/ml.
  • Mesothelioma risk data from McDonald and McDonald and from Ruttner, as presented by the author, showed excess risk only for insulation workers.
  • The author cited Friedrichs's unpublished animal injection data, via Whitwell et al., as showing a threshold of about 10 to the 7th power fibers per animal for tumor induction (the scan prints this as "lo7").
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that a dose-response relationship and a threshold for tumor formation exist. The author believed 2 fibers/ml should be used as the threshold and suggested the limit may lie between 2 and 5 fibers/ml.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author stated that knowledge of past fiber concentrations is not based on ideal data, so only relative concentrations between sectors can be compared meaningfully.

Related studies

• Based on available data, can we project an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos? No — A. Englund (1979)
• Based on available data, can we project an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos? Perhaps — S. Samuels (1979)
• Based upon available data, can we project an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos? Yes — P. Kotin (1979)
• How Malignant Mesothelioma Was Coded in Mortality Data in Taiwan During Years When the Specific ICD Code Was Not Available? — S.Y. Tai, J. Wu, et al. (2021)
• Historical evolution of regulatory standards for occupational and consumer exposures to industrial talc — D.A. Drechsel, C.A. Barlow, et al. (2018)
• An industrial hygienist's perspective on generic standards — J.S. Lee (1989)

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