Public Health Reports

Our medical research library holds 9 studies published in Public Health Reports (1975–2006). Each entry links to the study's record on PubMed and, where there is one, to the publisher's page and a free full text. 6 have an abstract, the authors' own summary as PubMed records it: open "Abstract" to read it. For 2 studies PubMed has no abstract for, we give the abstract printed in the article or, where there is none, a summary we wrote from it, each labeled as such.

About the journal

• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Published: 1974 to the present, United States
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0033-3549 (print), 1468-2877 (electronic)
• Continues: Health Services Reports
• Its record in the NLM Catalog

2000s

• Saving the asbestos industry, 1960 to 2006. J. McCulloch. 2006;121(5):609-14. Historical article PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Summary

  This historical article examined how the asbestos industry kept its markets from 1960 to 2006 despite mounting evidence of the hazards of asbestos. Drawing on litigation documents, depositions, an affidavit, industry records, published research and an interview with J.C. Wagner, the author traced industry responses to Wagner's 1960 South African paper. That paper was based on 33 cases of pleural mesothelioma and linked the disease to blue asbestos, mostly in people exposed outside the workplace. The author described Wagner's departure from South Africa in 1962 under industry pressure, industry influence over research at the Pneumoconiosis Research Unit, and Canadian chrysotile producers' strategy of arguing that only amphiboles caused mesothelioma. He also described industry-funded bodies, including the Asbestos Information Association/North America and the Asbestos Institute, which had received more than $40 million in sponsorship by 1999. Citing documents from a Texas court case, the article reported that Owens-Illinois made regular payments to Wagner from 1986, probably exceeding $300,000 in total. During this period Wagner's views shifted toward the industry position on chrysotile and amosite, and the association was not acknowledged. The author concluded that by keeping doubt alive about chrysotile, the industry gained a 25-year reprieve in industrial states. He added that industry-sponsored research is used to justify continued asbestos mining and manufacture in countries such as India, Kazakhstan and Thailand.

  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.

1990s

• Public health impact of the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest. C.A. Evans. 1993;108(3):265-72. PubMed · Free full text

  Abstract

  The Los Angeles civil unrest in April 1992 stunned the nation. The days of violence resulted in 53 deaths, 2,325 reported injuries, more than 600 buildings completely destroyed by fire, and approximately $735 million in total damages. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the activities of the Public Health Programs and Services Branch of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services during and after the civil unrest and to illustrate the types of public health issues and problems that may result from large-scale civil disturbance. Public health agencies and jurisdictions should consider these issues in their disaster planning. Public Health Programs and Services Branch activities were directly affected by the violence and destruction. Women, Infants and Children Program vouchering sites and 20 drug program and alcohol recovery sites were damaged or burned and 15 county health centers closed during the unrest. At least 38 private medical and dental offices and 45 pharmacies were destroyed or damaged. County health authorities offered facilities to house relocated private care providers and filled prescriptions for medications where needed. The environmental health impact required the inspection of 2,827 burned and damaged sites for hazardous waste including asbestos; at 9 percent of the inspected sites, waste required special disposal. More than 1,000 food facilities suffered damage and required inspection before reopening. In the 3 months following the unrest, a 20-percent increase in disposal capacity was authorized at four county landfills to accommodate the disposal of debris. Violence was a public health issue of particular concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a team to study the violence from an epidemiologic perspective. The Federal agency also provided funding for televised children's talk shows dealing with reactions to the violence.

1980s

• Cancer incidence following exposure to drinking water with asbestos leachate. H.L. Howe, P.E. Wolfgang, W.S. Burnett, et al. 1989;104(3):251-6. PubMed · Free full text

  Abstract

  In November 1985, the New York State Department of Health was altered to extraordinary concentrations of asbestos leachate in the drinking water in the Town of Woodstock. Concentrations of 3.2 million fibers per liter (MFL) to 304.5 MFL were found, depending on location. An investigation of cancer incidence in the area was conducted for the period 1973-83 using the State Cancer Registry to compute standardized incidence ratios. No evidence was found of elevated cancer incidence at sites associated with asbestos exposure. A statistically non-significant excess of kidney cancer was seen among men, but not women. Colon cancer among men was significantly low, but incidence among women was similar to that expected. Lung cancer incidence was lower than expected for both sexes. Ovarian cancer rates were not different from expected rates. At sites not previously related to asbestos exposure, cancer of the oral cavity was significantly high, with most affected persons having a history of cigarette smoking. Surveillance of the community is continuing because of an insufficient latent period for some exposed groups.

• The "missing cases" of pleural malignant mesothelioma in Minnesota, 1979-81: preliminary report. D.E. Lilienfeld, P.D. Gunderson. 1986;101(4):395-9. PubMed · Free full text

  Abstract

  Malignant mesothelioma is a sentinel neoplasm for population exposure to asbestiform fibers. Public health officials may be alerted to temporal or spatial clustering of malignant mesothelioma through analyses of vital records, such as death certificates. Hence, the maintenance of the integrity of the vital statistics system, particularly the cause of death statement on the death certificate, is very important. The report by a northeastern Minnesota radiologist in January 1985 of an elevated prevalence of pleural plaques (related to asbestiform fiber exposure) to the Minnesota Department of Health resulted in an investigation of pleural malignant mesothelioma mortality trends in that area and in three other similar areas in the State. In that study, we noted that in several instances malignant mesothelioma (either intrathoracic or unspecified site) was listed on the death certificate in such a manner as to imply that the neoplasm was either a lung cancer or a malignancy of an unspecified site. The effect of this misclassification is to underestimate the mortality from malignant mesothelioma by fourfold to eightfold. Given the importance of malignant mesothelioma as a proxy for past asbestos exposure, it is necessary to determine the extent of such misclassification for all deaths in the United States.

• Port Allegany Asbestos Health Program: a community response to a public health problem. E.C. Holstein, K.W. Deuschle, S. Bosch, et al. 1984;99(2):193-9. PubMed · Free full text

  Abstract

  The Port Allegany Asbestos Health Program (PAAHP) is a unique, community-run program that resulted from the successful cooperative efforts of a labor union, a corporation, community health care providers, and a medical school. PAAHP's goal is to develop a permanent community health organization that will use the most advanced existing knowledge to mitigate the adverse health effects anticipated as a result of the use of amosite asbestos in a Port Allegany, Pa. factory. All 1,188 persons employed by the factory during the years 1964-72 and the 3,000-4,000 persons in household contact with them are eligible for the program. PAAHP's major services are intensive medical surveillance, smoking cessation assistance, health education for participants, and continuing education for area physicians about asbestos-related diseases. One of the program's policies is not to disturb the usual patterns of medical care. If further testing or treatment is needed, patients are referred to their usual personal physicians. PAAHP does not provide ordinary medical care or medical insurance. Across the nation, the number of workers estimated to have been exposed to asbestos is more than 20 million, and their household contacts are estimated to be about three to four times that number. Adverse health effects resulting from asbestos exposure include elevated risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma, gastrointestinal tumors, and asbestosis. The problem requires the development of public health solutions. PAAHP has demonstrated the feasibility of a community-based model as one useful approach.

• Health promotion: Smoking control. 1983;Suppl:107-116. PubMed · Free full text

  Abstract

  Cigarette smoking is the largest single preventable cause of illness and premature death in the United States. It is the major single cause of cancer mortality in the United States and is a causal factor for coronary heart disease and arteriosclerotic peripheral vascular disease; is associated with increased risk of coronary atherosclerosis; and is the most important cause of chronic obstructive lung disease. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of bladder, pancreatic, and renal cancer, and peptic ulcer disease. Maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy causes: retarded fetal growth; an increased risk for spontaneous abortion, fetal death, and neonatal death; and, possibly, slight impairment of growth and development during early childhood. Cigarette smoking acts synergistically with oral contraceptives to increases the risk for coronary heart disease and some forms of cerebrovascular disease; with alcohol to increase the risk of cancer of the larynx, oral cavity, and esophagus; with asbestos and some other occupationally encountered substances to increase the likelihood of cancer of the lung and larynx; and with other coronary risk factors such as hypercholesteremia to enhance cardiovascular risk. Smoking is the major identifiable cause of residential fire deaths and injuries as well as a contributor to accidental injuries. Cigarette smokers have a 70 percent higher overall death rate than nonsmokers, and tobacco is associated with an estimate in excess of 300,000 premature deaths a year. It is estimated that smoking contributes to as many as 225,000 deaths from coronary heart disease, the major cause of death among men and women in the United States; more than 100,000 deaths from cancers; and more than 20,000 deaths from chronic obstructive lung disease. Another 10 million Americans currently suffer from debilitating chronic disease caused by smoking. But substantial progress has been made since the release of the first Surgeon General's Report in 1964. More than 30 million smokers have quit since 1964 and the proportion of adult smokers has declined from about 42 percent in 1965 to approximately one-third today. Adult per capita consumption of cigarettes declined temporarily in 1953, 1954, 1964 and 1968-70, and the rate of decline has accelerated since 1977. Teenage smoking, particularly among adolescent girls, appears to be declining.

• Asbestos in Colorado schools. C.A. Baldwin, H.J. Beaulieu, R.M. Buchan, et al. 1982;97(4):325-31. PubMed · Free full text

  Abstract

  Forty-one public schools in Colorado were drawn at random and surveyed for asbestos-containing materials. After bulk samples of possible asbestos materials from the schools were collected and analyzed, the K2 asbestos screening test was used to eliminate samples that did not contain asbestos. Samples with positive results on the K2 test were analyzed by an outside laboratory by polarized light microscopy. The risk of potential exposure presented by these materials was then assessed for each site from which a sample was taken. Of 113 samples collected, results were negative for asbestos for only 10.6 percent by the K2 test. Of the 101 samples for which results were positive, 56 actually contained 1 or more forms of asbestos. Twelve of these 56 samples were from sprayed material; the remaining 44 were from other materials containing asbestos. Of the 41 schools sampled, 31 had asbestos materials in one of more locations. The potential exposure values for these materials ranged from very low to very high, but the majority had high-exposure potentials. Estimates based on the survey of the 41 schools indicated that 63 to 89 percent of the public schools in Colorado have asbestos materials that present potentially serious hazards, not only to the children, teachers, and staff, but also to members of the community who use the school buildings after regular school hours.

1970s

• Greater public awareness of health hazards of asbestos exposure. 1979;94(4):388-9. News PubMed · Free full text

• The hazards of asbestos for brake mechanics. B. Castleman, L.A. Camarota, A.J. Fritsch, et al. 1975;90(3):254-6. PubMed · Free full text

  Summary

  The authors described two programs that warned brake repair establishments about the hazard of asbestos dust and assessed whether the warnings changed work practices. Brake friction materials were reported to contain an average of 50 percent chrysotile, and the usual method of removing brake dust was blowing it out with a compressed air hose. In December 1972 the Baltimore County Department of Health mailed a one-page circular to about 130 brake repair establishments. It warned that brake dust could cause serious diseases, including cancer, and advised vacuuming, better ventilation and face masks. Four months later, student volunteers visited 100 establishments. In Washington, D.C., starting in August 1973, an occupational health nurse handed a more readable leaflet directly to mechanics at 186 establishments and later interviewed managers at 120. Initially, 65 percent (65 of 100) of Baltimore shops and 91 percent (110 of 120) of Washington shops were blowing out brakes. At follow-up, 11 of the 65 Baltimore shops used vacuum or wet brushing, and 4 others had added ventilation or masks. In Washington, 2 shops changed to wet brushing, 4 provided masks and 2 changed brake shoes in all repairs. Improvement was 23 percent in Baltimore County and 7 percent in Washington. The authors suggested that failing to involve management may explain the poorer Washington result. They concluded that voluntary warnings had limited effect and that blowing out brakes would remain common as long as regulations permitted it.

  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.

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