Developing Asbestos Job Exposure Matrix Using Occupation and Industry Specific Exposure Data (1984-2008) in Republic of Korea

Our plain-English summary of Developing Asbestos Job Exposure Matrix Using Occupation and Industry Specific Exposure Data (1984-2008) in Republic of Korea, by S. Choi, D. Kang, D. Park, et al (Safety and Health at Work, 2017).

The study

• Authors: S. Choi, D. Kang, D. Park, H. Lee, B. Choi
• Journal: Safety and Health at Work
• Published: 2017;8(1):105-115
• Cited by: 20 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Background: The goal of this study is to develop a general population job-exposure matrix (GPJEM) on asbestos to estimate occupational asbestos exposure levels in the Republic of Korea.

Methods: Three Korean domestic quantitative exposure datasets collected from 1984 to 2008 were used to build the GPJEM. Exposure groups in collected data were reclassified based on the current Korean Standard Industrial Classification (9th edition) and the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations code (6th edition) that is in accordance to international standards. All of the exposure levels were expressed by weighted arithmetic mean (WAM) and minimum and maximum concentrations.

Results: Based on the established GPJEM, the 112 exposure groups could be reclassified into 86 industries and 74 occupations. In the 1980s, the highest exposure levels were estimated in "knitting and weaving machine operators" with a WAM concentration of 7.48 fibers/mL (f/mL); in the 1990s, "plastic products production machine operators" with 5.12 f/mL, and in the 2000s "detergents production machine operators" handling talc containing asbestos with 2.45 f/mL. Of the 112 exposure groups, 44 groups had higher WAM concentrations than the Korean occupational exposure limit of 0.1 f/mL.

Conclusion: The newly constructed GPJEM which is generated from actual domestic quantitative exposure data could be useful in evaluating historical exposure levels to asbestos and could contribute to improved prediction of asbestos-related diseases among Koreans.

In plain English

The authors built a job-exposure matrix, a table estimating airborne asbestos levels by industry and occupation in South Korea from 1984 to 2008. They combined three Korean measurement sources: published Korean studies, samples analyzed at a Seoul National University laboratory (1995-2006), and monitoring data reported to the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (2005-2008). From 5,627 measurements they formed 112 exposure groups covering 86 industries and 74 occupations, each summarized by a weighted arithmetic mean (WAM). The highest averages were 7.48 fibers per milliliter (f/ml) for knitting and weaving machine operators in asbestos textile manufacturing in 1984-1989, 5.12 f/ml for plastic products production machine operators in 1996-1997, and 2.45 f/ml for detergents production machine operators handling talc containing anthophyllite. Of the 112 groups, 44 had averages above the Korean occupational exposure limit of 0.1 f/ml. The authors concluded the matrix could be very useful for evaluating historical exposure in predicting asbestos-related diseases. They noted that early measurement methods differed from current ones, the university laboratory data lacked sample-type details, and samples were unevenly spread across groups.

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: Construction of a general population job-exposure matrix from existing Korean asbestos exposure measurements (literature data and two monitoring databases)
• Who was studied: Korean workplace exposure groups: 112 exposure groups built from 5,627 quantitative measurements taken from 1984 to 2008. The sources were Korean peer-reviewed literature (1984-1996, 641 samples), the Seoul National University laboratory database (1995-2006, 2,124 samples) and the KOSHA monitoring database (2005-2008, 2,862 samples). The groups were reclassified into 86 industries and 74 occupations.
• Exposure: Occupational airborne asbestos concentrations in fibers per milliliter. Jobs included asbestos textile, asbestos slate and brake lining manufacturing and, in the KOSHA data, handling talc containing asbestos (22 of 58 KOSHA groups). Some groups handled talc containing anthophyllite and some handled material containing amosite.
• Main results:
  • Across the 112 exposure groups, WAM concentrations ranged from 0.0002 f/ml to 7.5 f/ml.
  • In the literature data, knitting and weaving machine operators in the industry manufacturing asbestos, mineral wools and similar products had the highest WAM: 7.48 f/ml in 1984-1989. The same category had a WAM of 2.55 f/ml in 1991-1996.
  • In the Seoul National University database, plastic products production machine operators in foamed plastic products manufacturing had the highest WAM, 5.12 f/ml (1996-1997).
  • In the Seoul National University database, the highest single (maximum) concentration was 26.7 f/ml, among automobile parts assemblers in manufacturing of parts and accessories for motor vehicles and engines. The sample type was not indicated.
  • In the KOSHA database, detergents production machine operators handling talc containing anthophyllite (surface-active agents manufacturing, 4 samples) had the highest WAM, 2.45 f/ml, and a maximum of 8.42 f/ml.
  • 44 of the 112 exposure groups had WAM concentrations above the Korean occupational exposure limit of 0.1 f/ml. This included 27 of the 58 KOSHA groups.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, despite several limitations, the matrix could be very useful in evaluating the contribution of historical asbestos exposure to predicting asbestos-related disease in Korea.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Monitoring and analysis methods in the early period differed from the current NIOSH 7400 method.
  • Very little literature on the primary asbestos industry was available before 1996.
  • The Seoul National University database lacked sample-type information, and only 2,124 of 3,642 data points could be linked to industry and occupation codes.
  • Where measurement years were missing, publication years of the cited literature were used as measurement years.
  • Environmental sources of asbestos (such as old asbestos slate roofs over workplaces) were not considered.
  • Samples were unevenly distributed across industries: 51.3% of Seoul National University data came from automobile parts assemblers, and 67.3% of KOSHA data came from elementary construction workers dismantling asbestos.
  • Some exposure groups had no information on number of samples or only one sample, leading to under-representation.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Talc, Occupational Exposure.

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