Determination of environmental exposure to asbestos (tremolite) and mesothelioma risks in the southeastern region of Turkey

Our plain-English summary of Determination of environmental exposure to asbestos (tremolite) and mesothelioma risks in the southeastern region of Turkey, by A. Senyigit, A. Dalgic, O. Kavak, et al (Archives of Environmental Health, 2004).

The study

• Authors: A. Senyigit, A. Dalgic, O. Kavak, A.C. Tanrikulu
• Journal: Archives of Environmental Health
• Published: 2004;59(12):658-62
• Cited by: 15 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

In this study, the authors examined the concentrations and mineralogical analyses of asbestos, and investigated mesothelioma risk in southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. They used a gravimetric dust sampler to collect samples from 2 villages and 2 asbestos mines (1 active). Samples were then evaluated by an X-ray diffractometer and an electron microscope. The authors found high concentrations of asbestos in an active mine (4.9 fibers[f]/cm3) and at a house that was plastered with asbestos (1.24 f/cm3) and had a very active population. They found a low concentration (0.0042 f/cm3) in indoor measurements taken in Armutova village, and an even lower concentration (0.000081 f/cm3) in the inactive mine environment. Outdoor measurements included a low concentration of 0.007 f/cm3 in the village environment, and a high concentration of 1.17 f/cm3 on the mine road during the passing of a sheep herd. The people in the region are continuously exposed to asbestos during normal activities. This cumulative exposure to asbestos carries sufficient risks for mesothelioma development.

In plain English

This study measured airborne asbestos fibers in a region of southeastern Turkey between Elazig and Diyarbakir provinces, where rural people have used local asbestos-bearing soil as whitewash and plaster for their houses. In September 2004 the authors took eight air samples in and around two villages, Armutova and Yukariseyhler, and at an active and an inactive asbestos mine. Fibers longer than 5 micrometers were counted under a phase-contrast microscope. Rock and wall samples examined by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy were all identified as tremolite. The highest level, 4.9 fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cm3), was at the active mine. On the mine road, while a sheep herd passed, it was 1.17 f/cm3. Inside asbestos-plastered houses, the level was 0.0042 f/cm3 in a house where no one lived. In two crowded houses being swept it was 1.08 and 1.24 f/cm3. Outdoor village samples measured 0.007 and 0.02 f/cm3, and the inactive mine 0.000081 f/cm3. The authors cited a Turkish workplace limit of 0.1 f/cm3. The study did not examine residents or count disease cases. The authors concluded that villagers' mesothelioma risk is as high as that of workers exposed on the job.

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: Environmental air-sampling study with mineralogical analysis; no health data on people were collected
• Who was studied: Eight air samples from two villages (Armutova and Yukariseyhler), an active mine and an inactive mine. The setting was a 3000 km2 region between Elazig and Diyarbakir provinces in southeastern Anatolia, Turkey, sampled in September 2004. The sampling locations were chosen based on the number of mesothelioma patients in the region.
• Exposure: Airborne tremolite asbestos from local deposits. Sources were mining and local soil used as whitewash or plaster in houses. Air was sampled indoors in asbestos-plastered houses, outdoors in villages, on a mine road, and at active and inactive mines. Fibers longer than 5 micrometers were counted.
• Main results:
  • The highest airborne concentration was 4.9 f/cm3, measured at the active mine (Armutova).
  • On the road to the active mine, while a sheep herd was passing, the concentration was 1.17 f/cm3.
  • Indoor samples in asbestos-plastered houses ranged from 0.0042 f/cm3 to 1.24 f/cm3. The 0.0042 f/cm3 sample (Armutova) came from a house where no one lived. The 1.08 f/cm3 sample (Yukariseyhler) and the 1.24 f/cm3 sample (Armutova) came from houses with very dense populations where sweeping took place during sampling.
  • Outdoor samples in free areas of the villages measured 0.007 f/cm3 (Yukariseyhler) and 0.02 f/cm3 (Armutova). The inactive mine (Yukariseyhler) measured 0.000081 f/cm3.
  • Seven samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and 4 by electron microscopy. All were identified as tremolite.
  • The authors cited the Turkish legal maximum allowable asbestos concentration for a working environment, 0.1 f/cm3, as the comparison point.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the indoor levels they measured show that villagers exposed to asbestos have a mesothelioma risk as high as occupationally exposed people. They also concluded that the cumulative fiber doses in such populations will be associated with a high risk of mesothelioma unless particular care is taken.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Environmental Exposure, Tremolite, Mesothelioma, Cumulative Exposure.

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