Environmental household exposures to asbestos and occurrence of pleural mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Environmental household exposures to asbestos and occurrence of pleural mesothelioma, by D. Dodoli, M. Del Nevo, C. Fiumalbi, et al (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1992).

The study

• Authors: D. Dodoli, M. Del Nevo, C. Fiumalbi, T.E. Iaia, A. Cristaudo, P. Comba, C. Viti, G. Battista
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1992;21(5):681-7
• Cited by: 35 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. 004478).

Abstract

We reviewed the certificates of 39,650 deaths which occurred in the period 1975-1988 in Leghorn and of 45,900 in La Spezia (Italy) in the period 1958-1988. In total 262 cases have been recorded as pleural mesothelioma. The main occupational exposures occurred in the shipbuilding industry. Regarding non-occupational exposures to asbestos, 13 cases of mesothelioma were found in women who had washed the work clothes of their relatives at home; we also found other domestic uses of asbestos which were rarely or never discussed previously in the literature: six cases might be explained by the installation of fireproof or non-conductive materials in the domestic environment. These exposures probably are more frequent than realized until now.

In plain English

The authors reviewed death certificates from two Italian shipbuilding towns, Leghorn (1975-1988) and La Spezia (1958-1988), and found 262 deaths recorded as pleural mesothelioma (206 men, 56 women). By interviewing close relatives they obtained information on 202 of these people. They classified 143 (138 men, 5 women) as occupationally exposed, mainly shipyard and insulation workers, and could not assess any definite exposure for 40. Sixteen cases (13 women, 3 men) had non-occupational, usually domestic, exposure. Ten of the women had washed the work clothes of relatives exposed at work, and two of them also used asbestos boards for ironing clothes. One woman had exposed asbestos pipe insulation in her kitchen. Two women had asbestos panels behind radiators; all three men lived in houses with asbestos panels used to limit heat dispersion. Three more women were judged very probably, but not surely, exposed at home. Five panels and a cord still used in local homes contained chrysotile and no crocidolite. The authors concluded that such household exposures are probably more frequent than realized. They noted that death certificates contain errors.

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: Death-certificate study of pleural mesothelioma deaths, with interviews of relatives to classify asbestos exposure, a descriptive case series of the non-occupationally exposed cases, and mineral analysis of household fireproofing materials
• Who was studied: 262 deaths recorded as pleural mesothelioma (206 men, 56 women) among the deaths reviewed in Leghorn (1975-1988; 39,650 deaths) and La Spezia (1958-1988), Italy. Information was obtained for 202 (163 men, 39 women); 60 were 'lost cases'.
• Exposure: Non-occupational, mainly domestic, asbestos exposure: washing relatives' asbestos-contaminated work clothes, asbestos boards used for ironing clothes, exposed asbestos insulation of hot water pipes, and asbestos fireproof panels used in homes to limit heat dispersion (behind radiators in two women's homes). Occupational exposure (mainly shipyards) was also classified.
• Main results:
  • Of the 202 cases with information, 143 (138 males, 5 females) were classified as occupationally exposed ('surely' or 'probably'), mainly shipyard and insulating workers
  • 16 cases (13 women, 3 men) had non-occupational exposure; for 40 subjects no definite asbestos exposure could be assessed
  • Ten women lived with workers exposed to asbestos at work (8 wives and one sister of shipyard workers, and one wife of an oil refinery worker) and washed their work clothes at home
  • Two of these ten women also used asbestos boards for ironing clothes
  • One woman (Case 11) had exposed asbestos insulation of hot water pipes in her kitchen
  • Two women (Cases 12 and 13) were exposed to asbestos panels installed behind radiators to limit heat dispersion
  • All three men lived in houses with asbestos panels used to limit heat dispersion. Two of them also had occupational exposure, but it occurred six and two years before death. The authors judged that too close to death to be considered a sufficient cause.
  • Of the 39 women with information, 13 were definitely exposed to asbestos in the home, three more were probably exposed, and 5 were exposed at work
  • Among the 16 non-occupational cases, the average age at death was 63 years (range 60-65) for men and 76 years (range 66-87) for women
  • Five fireproof panels and a cord still used in local homes contained chrysotile; no crocidolite was found in any specimen
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that these household exposures are probably more frequent than realized until then. In their opinion, unnecessary domestic use of all types of asbestos should be banned and health education is required.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Death certificates have a margin of error, and pleural mesothelioma is underreported as a cause of death
  • Because of the long latency, reliable information on the insulating materials actually installed in the deceased people's homes could not be obtained
  • The mineral analysis results can be linked to the mesothelioma cases only hypothetically
  • The lost cases and the cases without definite exposure may hide additional non-occupational exposures, which are hard to identify through relatives' interviews

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Occupational Exposure, Non-Occupational Exposure, Mesothelioma.

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