Exposure science can increase protection of workers and their families from exposure to asbestos and inform on the effects of other elongate mineral particles

Our plain-English summary of Exposure science can increase protection of workers and their families from exposure to asbestos and inform on the effects of other elongate mineral particles, by J. Howard, P. Middendorf (Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 2010).

The study

• Authors: J. Howard, P. Middendorf
• Journal: Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology
• Published: 2010;20(6):485-6
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This two-page commentary was written by two authors from the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and published as an "Exposure Science Digest." It did not report new research. The authors argued that better exposure science is needed for asbestos and for other "elongate mineral particles" (EMPs). Citing reports from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they noted that asbestosis-related years of potential life lost rose from an average of 146.0 per year in 1968–1972 to 239.6 per year in 2001–2005. They also noted that US asbestosis deaths rose from 77 in 1968 to 1,493 in 2000. The authors wrote that US workplace exposure now occurs mainly during maintenance activities or remediation of buildings containing asbestos. They called for better sampling and analysis methods, saying that current routine methods cannot accurately count, size and identify all EMPs. They also called for a comprehensive occupational exposure database. They urged readers to support a draft NIOSH research "Roadmap" and to apply lessons from asbestos to new elongate materials.

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: Commentary (an 'Exposure Science Digest' opinion piece by two NIOSH authors); no original data. The figures it gives are cited from CDC reports.
• Exposure: Asbestos in general and other elongate mineral particles (EMPs), including other asbestiform minerals such as those at the Libby vermiculite mine. The article describes current US occupational exposure as occurring mainly during maintenance activities or remediation of buildings containing asbestos.
• Main results:
  • Figure cited from a 2008 CDC report, not new data: asbestosis-related years of potential life lost (YPLL) in the United States rose from an average of 146.0 YPLL per year in 1968–1972 to 239.6 per year in 2001–2005.
  • Figure cited from a 2004 CDC report, not new data: US asbestosis deaths numbered 77 in 1968 (annual age-adjusted death rate 0.54 per million population) and 1,493 in 2000.
  • Same cited CDC source: the age-adjusted asbestosis death rate in 2000 was 6.88 per million.
  • The authors stated, citing a 1991 Health Effects Institute review, that US occupational asbestos exposure now occurs primarily during maintenance activities or remediation of buildings containing asbestos.
  • The authors' recommendation: current routine analytical methods cannot accurately count, size and identify all EMPs on airborne samples.
  • The authors' recommendation: occupational exposure data should be collected and stored in a comprehensive database.
  • The authors urged readers to read and support the draft NIOSH Roadmap for research on asbestos and EMPs.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that improved sampling and analytical methods are needed to characterize exposures to asbestos fibers and other EMPs, and that lessons from the asbestos experience should be applied to new elongate materials.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: elongate mineral particles (EMPs).

Related studies

• Exposure science will not increase protection of workers from asbestos-caused diseases: NIOSH fails to provide needed public health action and leadership — R.A. Lemen, H. Anderson, et al. (2011)
• The relationship between various exposure metrics for elongate mineral particles (EMP) in the taconite mining and processing industry — J. Hwang, G. Ramachandran, et al. (2014)
• Measurement of elongate mineral particles: What we should measure and how do we do it? — E.J. Chatfield (2018)
• Differential responses of murine alveolar macrophages to elongate mineral particles of asbestiform and non-asbestiform varieties: Cytotoxicity, cytokine secretion and transcriptional changes — T.O. Khaliullin, E.R. Kisin, et al. (2020)
• Comprehensive assessment of exposures to elongate mineral particles in the taconite mining industry — J. Hwang, G. Ramachandran, et al. (2013)
• Elongate mineral particles in the natural environment — M.E. Gunter (2018)

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