Based on available data, can we project an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos? No

Our plain-English summary of Based on available data, can we project an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos? No, by A. Englund (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1979).

The study

• Author: A. Englund
• Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• Published: 1979;330:219-21
• Cited by: 2 articles, 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

In this short conference paper, the author argued that available data do not allow an acceptable standard for industrial asbestos use, citing others' published work and Swedish experience. Among 410 construction workers in one Swedish study area who reported handling asbestos products, X-rays showed pleural plaques in 130 and parenchymal fibrosis in 11. The author read this as an indirect sign of exposure. In a study of about 20,000 plumbers and pipefitters, the author's group found an almost twofold excess of respiratory cancers, including five sinus tumors instead of one. Among plumbers, pulmonary cancer deaths numbered 72 against 38 expected (SMR 1.89). Painters had 14 laryngeal cancers against 8 expected (SMR 1.77). The plumbers' degree of asbestos exposure was not yet known in detail. Swedish imports of raw asbestos fell from 20,000 tons a year to almost zero within a few years. The author concluded that no safe exposure level for cancer can be predicted with certainty, and that society can manage without the existing pattern of asbestos use.

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: Position paper (commentary) given at a conference, drawing on published literature and on the author's group's Swedish data on construction workers
• Who was studied: Swedish construction workers: 410 workers in one study area who reported handling asbestos products, and about 20,000 plumbers and pipefitters followed for cancer incidence (5 years) and mortality (8 years). Painters in the Swedish house-building trade also appear in the results table.
• Exposure: Handling of asbestos products in construction work (fiber type not specified). The 410 workers had more than 3 months of asbestos exposure. The plumbers' exposure was not known in detail, but their work commonly included stripping old insulation.
• Main results:
  • Among the 410 workers who reported handling asbestos products, X-rays showed pleural plaques in 130 and parenchymal fibrosis in 11. The author interpreted this as an indirect indication of exposure.
  • The 11 workers with parenchymal changes had mainly been plumbers, pipefitters and insulators. A substantial portion of the 130 with pleural changes had worked as carpenters, concrete workers and electricians.
  • Among the plumbers and pipefitters there was an almost twofold excess of respiratory cancers, including those of the nasal sinuses (five sinus tumors instead of one).
  • Plumbers, pulmonary cancer from cause of death certificates: 72 observed against 38 expected, SMR 1.89, p less than 0.0001
  • Plumbers, pulmonary cancer from the cancer registry: 38 observed against 24 expected, SMR 1.61, p 0.002. Plumbers, laryngeal cancer from the cancer registry: 8 observed against 3 expected, SMR 2.46, p 0.02.
  • Painters, laryngeal cancer from the cancer registry: 14 observed against 8 expected, SMR 1.77, p 0.03
  • Swedish imports of raw asbestos fell from 20,000 tons per year to almost zero in a few years, and the changeover to alternative materials occurred very rapidly.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that no safe level of asbestos exposure with regard to cancer can be predicted with certainty, and that the saying 'no smoking, no asbestos-related respiratory cancer' should have no bearing on standard setting. The author also concluded that asbestos use is widespread, with ordinary occupational groups showing signs of exposure and excess respiratory cancer, and that society will manage easily without the present asbestos use pattern.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The degree of asbestos exposure of the plumbers and pipefitters was not yet known in detail.

Related studies

• Based on available data, can we project an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos? Absolutely — K. Robock (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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