Experience with asbestos disease and its control in Great Britain's naval dockyards

Our plain-English summary of Experience with asbestos disease and its control in Great Britain's naval dockyards, by P.G. Harries (Environmental Research, 1976).

The study

• Author: P.G. Harries
• Journal: Environmental Research
• Published: 1976;11(2):261-7
• Cited by: 25 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. 002287).

Summary of the article

The author described experience with asbestos exposure, asbestos disease and its control in British naval dockyards. Past measurements recorded 177-322 f/cc during spraying of crocidolite (1940-1960) and 50-500 f/cc, locally up to 2,000 f/cc, during its removal. The dust spread through ships to men not working with asbestos. Substitute materials, respiratory protection and improved codes of practice had since greatly reduced fiber concentrations. Pilot radiographic surveys in four dockyards found asbestos abnormalities in 3% of men examined. Preliminary results of complete surveys showed abnormalities in 893 (8%) of 10,849 persons. At Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth, 156 men were awarded disability pensions for asbestosis in the 10 years to September 1973, and most had worked near insulation workers. Of 457 men with pleural abnormalities, 103 had calcified plaques, 285 uncalcified plaques and 69 diffuse fibrosis. There were 55 mesothelioma deaths in Plymouth over the same period, and only two of these men were asbestos workers. Previous radiographs of 44 cases showed plaques in 15 (34%), compared with an expected 12% in similarly exposed survey groups. The author concluded that hygiene improvements would prevent disease in future employees. He also concluded that research into detecting susceptible persons, especially immunological research, should receive urgent priority.

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 1976 article was a descriptive report by the author on asbestos exposure and disease in British naval dockyards. Crocidolite was sprayed onto ship surfaces from 1940 to 1960. Records showed 177-322 fibers per cc during spraying and 50-500 f/cc during removal, against a recommended limit of 0.2 f/cc. Machinery insulation was mainly preformed sections containing 15-90% amosite covered with chrysotile cloth, and removing pipe and machinery insulation produced 100-200 f/cc. Preliminary survey results found radiological asbestos abnormalities in 893 (8%) of 10,849 persons examined. At Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth, 156 men were awarded disability pensions for asbestosis in the 10 years to September 1973. Plymouth recorded 55 deaths from mesothelial tumors in that period, all pleural except one peritoneal, and only two of the men could be regarded as asbestos workers. Of 44 available radiograph series, 15 (34%) showed earlier pleural plaques, against an expected 12% in similarly exposed survey groups. The author concluded that hygiene improvements will prevent disease in future employees and that research into immunological aspects of asbestos disease should receive urgent priority.

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: Descriptive report of experience in British naval dockyards, drawing on dust measurement records, radiographic surveys, disability pension awards and mesothelioma deaths in Plymouth
• Who was studied: Workers in British naval dockyards. Preliminary radiographic survey results covered 10,849 persons. Plymouth (Devonport) records covered the 10 years up to September 1973.
• Exposure: Sprayed crocidolite insulation on deckheads and bulkheads (1940-1960). Machinery insulation was mainly preformed sections containing 15-90% amosite, covered with chrysotile cloth. Exposure came from applying and removing these materials, including for men working near insulation workers.
• Main results:
  • Records showed concentrations of 177-322 f/cc during the crocidolite spray process.
  • Removing sprayed crocidolite produced 50-500 f/cc, with local concentrations up to 2,000 f/cc while sweeping and bagging debris. The recommended upper limit for crocidolite was 0.2 f/cc.
  • Removing pipe and machinery insulation produced 100-200 f/cc. The recommended limit for amosite and chrysotile was 2 f/cc.
  • In the dockyard surveys, preliminary results showed radiological asbestos abnormalities in 893 (8%) of 10,849 persons examined.
  • At Devonport Dockyard, 156 men were awarded disability pensions for asbestosis in the 10 years up to September 1973. Laggers (36) and asbestos sprayers (16) were the largest groups.
  • Among 457 Plymouth men with asbestos-related pleural abnormalities, 103 had calcified plaques, 285 had uncalcified plaques, and 69 had diffuse fibrosis with or without effusions.
  • There were 55 deaths from mesothelial tumors in Plymouth in the 10 years up to September 1973. All involved the pleura except one peritoneal tumor.
  • Among these mesothelioma deaths, average age at death was 63 years (range 40-83). Average time from first asbestos exposure to death was 39 years (range 20-64).
  • Only two of the men who died of mesothelioma, one lagger and one sprayer, could be regarded as asbestos workers.
  • Of 44 available radiograph series from the mesothelioma cases, 15 (34%) had earlier films showing pleural plaques, against an expected prevalence of 12% in similarly exposed survey groups.
  • Of the same 44 cases, 20 (45%) had diffuse pleural reactions on earlier films. In the remaining nine, the first radiological abnormality was the tumor.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that improved asbestos hygiene will prevent asbestos disease in future dockyard employees, and that research into the immunological aspects of asbestos disease should receive urgent priority.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Many pleural plaques are not detected on standard chest radiographs, so the survey figure (up to 8%) underestimates their true prevalence.
  • Not all pleural reactions or small effusions seen on survey radiographs are expected to progress to mesothelioma. It was not yet possible to predict which men with pleural abnormalities will develop tumors.
  • The full dockyard survey results were preliminary.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Shipyards and maritime work.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Crocidolite, Respirator, Insulator, Fibrosis, Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Asbestos exposure control at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard — R.R. Beckett (1976)
• Asbestos-associated disease in employees of Devonport Dockyard — G. Sheers (1979)
• Radiographic search for asbestos-related disease in a naval shipyard — J.S. Felton (1979)
• Chest physician-reported, work-related, long-latency respiratory disease in Great Britain — M. Carder, A. Darnton, et al. (2017)
• Asbestos hazards in naval dockyards — P.G. Harries (1968)
• The health of welders in naval dockyards. The risk of asbestos-related diseases occurring in welders — G.H. McMillan (1983)

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