Mineral fiber problems and their management: UK 1890-1935

Our plain-English summary of Mineral fiber problems and their management: UK 1890-1935, by M. Greenberg (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2004).

The study

• Author: M. Greenberg
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 2004;46(3):304-11
• Type of article: Historical article
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Background: The first intimation that mineral fibers other than asbestos were biologically active, is generally identified with reports of experimental studies by Stanton and Wrench, and Pott and Friedrichs, in the early 1970s. In 1890 however, man-made mineral fiber was recognized to present human health hazards; in 1912 experimental study confirmed asbestos to be fibrogenic, and by 1935 other mineral fibers came to notice as potential lung hazards.

Methods: Published and archival sources have been reviewed to trace the emergence between 1890 and 1935 of the awareness of the health hazards of various fibrous minerals, and the development of strategies for their control.

Results: By the early 1900s there was evidence that the asbestos substituted for the man-made mineral fiber insulation material employed to improve the thermal efficiency of steam powered engines, presented a serious health problem. In the early 1930s, other mineral fibers came to be suspected of causing pneumoconiosis.

Conclusions: Containment, local exhaust ventilation and personal respiratory protection were instituted for the amelioration of asbestosis, but because of the limitations of what was perceived to be reasonably practicable on economic grounds, and what was feasible technologically, their benefits were severely limited. Initial and periodic medical examination were introduced as precautionary measures, based on hope rather than on experience. When in the early 1930s, the investigation of coal mine dust and siliceous dust, threw up the hypothesis that fibrous natural mineral dusts other than asbestos might be fibrogenic, this was ignored and no further investigations were pursued and no precautionary measures were set in train.

In plain English

This article was a historical review. The author reviewed published and archival sources to trace how awareness of the health hazards of fibrous minerals emerged in the UK between 1890 and 1935, and how controls developed. In 1891 a Royal Navy dockyard surgeon reported that slag wool (cotton silicate) insulation irritated skin and eyes. Asbestos, predominantly amphibole, was later substituted for it. In 1911 a factory inspector examined 12 men and 7 women in slag wool factories and found definite lung fibrosis in one 65-year-old man employed for 20 years. The 1931 Asbestos Regulations did not require respirators because no effective one yet existed. A government-developed mask was later field-tested at Cape Asbestos, Barking. In the 1930s a geologist proposed that the fibrous mineral sericite caused disease in South Wales coal miners. The author concluded that containment, exhaust ventilation and respirators gave severely limited benefit, and that medical examinations rested on hope rather than experience. The author also concluded that the idea that other fibrous minerals might cause lung fibrosis was ignored.

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: Historical review of published and archival sources
• Who was studied: Historical records concerning UK workers exposed to mineral fibers, 1890 to 1935: Royal Naval and civilian dockyard workers, slag wool manufacturers and users, asbestos factory workers, and South Wales coal miners
• Exposure: Slag wool (cotton silicate), a man-made mineral fiber insulation; asbestos (predominantly amphibole) substituted for it; and natural fibrous minerals such as sericite in coal mine dust
• Main results:
  • In 1891 the Naval Surgeon at Devonport Royal Naval Dockyard reported that cotton silicate (slag wool) was irritant to skin and eyes.
  • In 1911 a Medical Inspector of Factories examined 12 males and 7 females in slag wool factories and found definite signs of lung fibrosis in one man aged 65 who had been employed for 20 years.
  • Three cases of illness attributed to, or possibly accelerated by, slag wool dust were reported in Government dockyards during 1908 and 1909. One of these was fatal.
  • The 1931 Asbestos Regulations did not specify respiratory protective equipment because no effective one had yet been produced.
  • A field test of the government-developed Mark IV dust mask, using 10 respirators at Cape Asbestos, Barking, found it suitable for use by asbestos workers.
  • In 1930, dust counts at Cape Asbestos, Barking were lowest in weaving with exhaust on (406 particles per cc). Higher counts were recorded in sweeping the chamber (1,448) and in shovelling into a bag (2,356).
  • The mining geologist W.R. Jones proposed the hypothesis that disease in South Wales coal miners was caused by sericite, the dominant mineral in the mine dust.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that containment, local exhaust ventilation and respirators had severely limited benefits, and that medical examinations were introduced on hope rather than experience. The author also concluded that the early 1930s hypothesis that fibrous minerals other than asbestos might cause fibrosis was ignored, with no further investigation or precautions.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author notes that only a few documents from the mid-1930s period have survived.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mineral Fiber, Fibrogenic, Notice, Pneumoconiosis, Respirator.

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• Occupational exposure to mineral fibres: analysis of results stored on colchic database — E. Kauffer, R. Vincent (2007)
• Silica, asbestos, man-made mineral fibers, and cancer — K. Steenland, L. Stayner (1997)
• Exposure to brake dust and malignant mesothelioma: a study of 10 cases with mineral fiber analyses — K.J. Butnor, T.A. Sporn, et al. (2003)

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