Can society live with asbestos?

Our plain-English summary of Can society live with asbestos?, by D. Gloag (British Medical Journal, 1982).

The study

• Author: D. Gloag
• Journal: British Medical Journal
• Published: 1982;284(6331):1728-9
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 1 article, 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. 004749).

In plain English

This article was not a research study. It was an editorial report by a staff editor of the British Medical Journal on the World Symposium on Asbestos in Montreal, which nearly 700 participants from 49 countries attended. The author wrote that there had been few advances since the journal last looked at asbestos, and that the central question was still whether there is a threshold for asbestos causing cancer. The author reported that one speaker, Professor J C McDonald, showed dose-response curves for lung cancer in chrysotile workers that were compatible with a linear relationship and no threshold of risk, while agreeing the data could be interpreted in other ways. The general view at the meeting was that rigorously enforced current standards should mean virtually no health effects. Dr J C Wagner described studies of 32 man-made mineral fibre factories in Europe and the United States that showed little if any evidence of health risks. None of one panel of speakers foresaw asbestos being replaced within 10 years. The author said many interests favoured safe use of asbestos, adding "if, indeed, that is possible."

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: Editorial and meeting report on a scientific symposium. It reports no original data.
• Who was studied: Participants at the World Symposium on Asbestos in Montreal: nearly 700 people from 49 countries, including representatives of government, industry and labour, and scientists. The symposium date is not stated in the text.
• Exposure: Asbestos in general. The article mentions chrysotile and crocidolite, and also discusses man-made mineral fibres as possible substitutes.
• Main results:
  • The author wrote that there had been few advances since the BMJ's previous articles, and that the central question remained whether there is a threshold for carcinogenicity.
  • As reported from the symposium: Professor J C McDonald showed dose-response curves for lung cancer in workers exposed to chrysotile. These were compatible with a linear relationship between fibre dose and cancer incidence and with no threshold of risk. The speaker agreed the data could be interpreted in other ways.
  • The general view at the meeting was that current standards, if rigorously enforced, should result in virtually no health effects.
  • Dr Irving Selikoff stressed urging past workers not to smoke. This measure could substantially reduce deaths, since smoking multiplies the risk of lung cancer in those exposed.
  • Some countries, including developing nations, were reported to have much lower standards than those taken for granted in the West.
  • Dr J C Wagner discussed experimental work and mortality and morbidity studies on 32 man-made mineral fibre factories in Europe and the United States. These showed little if any evidence of health risks.
  • None of a panel of speakers, which included an anti-asbestos trade unionist, foresaw substitutes replacing asbestos in the next 10 years.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that many interests coincide in promoting the safe use of asbestos, while questioning whether such safe use is possible.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author stated that the large body of data from people who worked or lived in poor past conditions does not answer whether slight exposures can be free of hazard.
  • The author noted that a meeting of this size could achieve little true dialogue between those with opposing views.

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