Health risk associated with airborne asbestos

Our plain-English summary of Health risk associated with airborne asbestos, by A. Pawełczyk, F. Božek (Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2015).

The study

• Authors: A. Pawełczyk, F. Božek
• Journal: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
• Published: 2015;187(7):428
• Cited by: 14 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

The following paper presents an assessment of health risks associated with air polluted with respirable asbestos fibers in towns of southwest Poland. The aim of the work was to determine whether or not any prevention measures are necessary in order to reduce the level of exposure to the pollutant. The risk assessment was carried out based on the air analyses and the latest asbestos toxicity data published by the Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), USA and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). It was found that in some sites, the concentration of the asbestos fibers exceeded the acceptable levels, which should be a reason of special concern. The highest concentration of asbestos was found in town centers during the rush hours. In three spots, the calculated maximum health risk exceeded 1E-04 which is considered too high according to the adopted standards. So far, it has not yet been possible to find a reasonable method of ensuring the hazard reduction.

In plain English

This was a health risk assessment based on air measurements. It calculated risks for assumed residents and workers and did not examine any actual people. The authors sampled air near busy crossroads in the centers of 20 towns in southwest Poland, taking 60 samples in the morning, the afternoon and around midnight. Fibers were counted by phase-contrast optical microscopy, which counts all airborne fibers and did not separate asbestos types. US EPA methods were then used to estimate excess lifetime cancer risk. Concentrations ranged from 141–269 fibers per cubic meter in Zgorzelec to almost 1700 in Ruda Śląska. Of the 60 samples, 21 were below 200, and only three spots exceeded 1000. Calculated risks exceeded one in a million for all age groups. For a resident up to age 30, the maximum risk was above one in ten thousand only in Ruda Śląska (1.66E-04) and Chorzów (1.30E-04). Maximum occupational risks ranged from 4.32E-06 to 4.12E-05. The authors said real risks should be lower, because maximum short-term concentrations were used. They concluded that further sampling was needed.

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 health risk assessment: outdoor air fiber measurements combined with US EPA toxicity values to calculate excess lifetime cancer risk under assumed residential and occupational exposure scenarios
• Who was studied: Outdoor air at sampling spots near busy crossroads in the centers of 20 towns in southwest Poland (60 air samples in total). Risks were calculated for hypothetical residents in four age groups (0 to under 2, 2 to under 6, 6 to under 16, and 16 to under 30 years) and for hypothetical employees aged 18 to under 55. Sampling dates are not given.
• Exposure: Airborne respirable fibers, counted by phase-contrast optical microscopy on air filters. Samples were taken between 6 and 8 a.m., between 4 and 6 p.m., and between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. Fiber types (for example chrysotile or crocidolite) were not distinguished. Risk was calculated with the US EPA IRIS unit risk factor of 0.23 per fiber/cm3, which relates to combined lung cancer and mesothelioma.
• Main results:
  • The lowest concentrations were in small towns, for example 141–269 fibers per cubic meter in Zgorzelec.
  • In Chorzów and Łódź, concentrations ranged between 800 and 1300 fibers per cubic meter. The highest values, almost 1700 fibers per cubic meter, were measured in Ruda Śląska.
  • Of 60 air samples, 21 (35%) had fiber concentrations below 200 fibers per cubic meter. Only three spots exceeded 1000 fibers per cubic meter.
  • Increased fiber levels were noted during rush hours.
  • In all age groups, the calculated risks exceeded 1E-06 (one in a million).
  • For children aged 0–2 years, the risks slightly exceeded 1E-06.
  • For adult residents (cumulative risk from age 0 to 30), the maximum calculated risk was below 1E-04 everywhere except Ruda Śląska (1.66E-04) and Chorzów (1.30E-04).
  • In the occupational scenario, maximum risks across sites ranged from 4.32E-06 to 4.12E-05, and minimum risks from 3.18E-06 to 2.73E-05. The authors classified these as moderate.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, assuming maximum fiber concentrations, the estimated excess lifetime cancer risks were within, or only slightly exceeded, the EPA-recommended range. They said further sampling is needed to confirm or exclude risk levels approaching 1E-04. They also noted that no safe threshold for asbestos carcinogenicity has been shown, and recommended reducing exposure as much as possible.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The exposure calculations assumed residents stay at the outdoor site all the time, although people spend much time indoors, where concentrations differ.
  • Sampling conditions were not fully uniform across sites, and concentrations fluctuate, which adds uncertainty to the risk estimates.
  • Different asbestos fiber types were not distinguished in the measurements.
  • Phase-contrast microscopy detects all kinds of airborne fibers, not only asbestos.
  • There were no data on confounding factors such as residents' smoking.
  • Maximum short-term concentrations were used instead of true average concentrations, which are unknown, so real risks should be lower.

Topics

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

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