Dangerous and cancer-causing properties of products and chemicals in the oil-refining and petrochemical industries. Part IX: Asbestos exposure and analysis of exposures

Our plain-English summary of Dangerous and cancer-causing properties of products and chemicals in the oil-refining and petrochemical industries. Part IX: Asbestos exposure and analysis of exposures, by M.A. Mehlman (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1991).

The study

• Author: M.A. Mehlman
• Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• Published: 1991;643:368-89
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 5 articles, 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. 004876).

Summary of the article

This article, part of a series on hazards in the oil-refining and petrochemical industries, examined asbestos exposure in these industries. The author summarized the chemical and physical properties of five types of asbestos, earlier studies of mesothelioma and chest X-ray abnormalities in refinery and petrochemical workers, and historical reports of asbestos hazards. In 1990 a questionnaire was mailed to Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers local unions representing many companies, including Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Texaco and Exxon. It asked when and on what equipment asbestos was used, how much contact workers had with it during installation, repair or removal, and what protective equipment was used. About 400 bulk samples of materials from a typical refinery were analyzed by polarized light microscopy. The survey found asbestos in boilers, building insulation, compressors, crude columns, furnaces, gaskets, valves, piping, heat exchangers, towers, turbines, tanks and other areas. From 1940 to 1990, 81%, 90% and 90% of workers were exposed during installation, repair and removal of asbestos. Reported use of precautions was 33% for mechanical exhaust, 57% for respirators, 42% for protective clothing, 45% for shielding of the worksite and 38% for waste disposal. Of 398 samples, the types found were chrysotile, amosite (about 30%) and a chrysotile-amosite combination (about 30%). Photographs showed deteriorating asbestos insulation. The author concluded that all types and sizes of asbestos fibers can potentially cause cancer, that there is no safe level of exposure, and that workers and their families are at significant risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This article combined a background review with a 1990 survey of asbestos use in United States oil-refining and petrochemical plants. The author mailed a questionnaire to Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union locals. It asked when and where asbestos was used, how much workers contacted it, and what protection they used. The article does not say how many questionnaires were returned. About 400 bulk samples from one refinery were analyzed by polarized light microscopy. The survey found asbestos in boilers, insulation, gaskets, valves, pipes and other equipment. For 1940 to 1990, reported exposure was 81 percent of workers during installation and 90 percent each during repair and removal. In the samples, amosite made up about 30% and a chrysotile-amosite mix about 30%. The chrysotile percentage is garbled in the supplied text and could not be confirmed. The author concluded that all asbestos fiber types and sizes can potentially cause cancer if inhaled, that no exposure level is safe, and that workers and their families face significant risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma from asbestos exposure in these industries.

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: Mailed questionnaire survey of union locals plus laboratory analysis of bulk samples from one refinery, presented alongside a review of earlier literature and photographs of a refinery
• Who was studied: Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers local unions representing oil-refining and petrochemical companies in the United States (Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Texaco, Exxon and many others), surveyed in 1990. The number of responses is not given. Also about 400 bulk samples taken over several years from one 'typical refinery'
• Exposure: Asbestos-containing materials in refineries and petrochemical plants (insulation, gaskets, valves, pipes and other equipment), handled during installation, repair and removal. The fiber types identified were chrysotile and amosite
• Main results:
  • The survey found asbestos in boilers, building insulation, compressors, crude columns, drums, FCC-CAT crackers, furnaces, gaskets, wall boards, valves, pipings, heat exchangers, roofs, storage tanks, towers, tile, turbines, tanks, transite and other areas
  • For the period 1940 to 1990, the reported percentages of workers exposed to asbestos were 81 percent during installation, 90 percent during repair and 90 percent during removal
  • Precautions were reported as rarely used. In Table 6 (percent yes vs no), mechanical exhaust was 33 vs 67, respirators 57 vs 43, protective clothing 42 vs 58, shielding of worksite 45 vs 55, and waste disposal 38 vs 62
  • Of 398 bulk samples, about 30% were amosite and about 30% a combination of chrysotile and amosite. The remainder was chrysotile, but its percentage is garbled in the supplied text and cannot be confirmed
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that asbestos was used extensively in these industries and that all types and sizes of asbestos fibers are potentially able to cause cancer if inhaled. The author also concluded that there is no safe level of exposure, and that all workers and their families are at significant risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos in these industries

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma, Chest X-Ray, Standard Oil Company of California, Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM), Gasket, Respirator, Chrysotile.

Related studies

• Dangerous and cancer-causing properties of products and chemicals in the oil refining and petrochemical industry: Part V--Asbestos-caused cancers and exposure of workers in the oil refining industry — M.A. Mehlman (1991)
• Update of the Texaco mortality study 1947-93: Part II. Analyses of specific causes of death for white men employed in refining, research, and petrochemicals — B.J. Divine, C.M. Hartman, et al. (1999)
• Mortality among maintenance employees potentially exposed to asbestos in a refinery and petrochemical plant — S.P. Tsai, L.C. Waddell, et al. (1996)
• Maintenance work and asbestos-related cancers in the refinery and petrochemical sector — M.M. Finkelstein (1999)
• Maintenance work and asbestos-related cancers in the refinery and petrochemical sector — M.M. Finkelstein (1999)
• Long-term follow-up mortality study of petroleum refinery and chemical plant employees — S.P. Tsai, E.L. Gilstrap, et al. (1996)

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