Non-occupational exposure to asbestos

Our plain-English summary of Non-occupational exposure to asbestos, by S.F. McCullagh (Lancet, 1978).

The study

• Author: S.F. McCullagh
• Journal: Lancet
• Published: 1978;2(8094):844
• Type of article: Letter
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 002135).

In plain English

This item is a short letter to the editor, not a research study. The author signed as Chief Medical Officer of James Hardie and Co. Ltd, New South Wales, Australia, and was replying to earlier correspondence, including a letter from Dr Vianna and Adele Polan. The author defended an earlier dismissal of a list of thirteen asbestos-related occupations given by Hamilton and Hardy. The author argued that a full list would run into thousands, and noted that the list left out the manufacture of asbestos-cement pipe, which the author said accounts for about 40% of all asbestos used in Australia. The author argued that job titles in Vianna and Polan's study, such as "miller" and "textile worker", were not specific enough unless they stated that the person worked with asbestos-containing material. The author also asked what a heat-electric wire worker and an elevator insulation worker actually did. On shoemakers, the author reported that an inquiry in Australia found no one in the trade who had heard of asbestos being used as a filler in shoes. Two felt fillers used in shoe manufacture there were examined and found to contain no asbestos.

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: Letter to the editor (correspondence replying to earlier letters); not an original study
• Who was studied: No study population. The letter discusses occupational categories, including those used in Vianna and Polan's study, and the shoe trade in Australia
• Exposure: Asbestos-related occupations: asbestos-cement pipe manufacture, milling of asbestos-containing talc, asbestos textile manufacture, and the alleged use of asbestos as a filler in shoes
• Main results:
  • The author stated that Hamilton and Hardy list thirteen asbestos-related occupations, while a full list would run into thousands
  • The author stated that asbestos-cement pipe manufacture accounts for about 40% of all asbestos used in Australia
  • Vianna and Polan had clarified that the "milliner" in their study was a "miller" who milled talc containing asbestos. The author argued that the title "miller" alone was not specific enough
  • An inquiry in Australia found no one in the shoe trade who had heard of asbestos being used as a filler in shoes
  • Two felt fillers used in Australian shoe manufacture were examined and found to contain no asbestos
• The authors' conclusion: The author maintained that the Hamilton and Hardy occupation list was of no value and that job descriptions must specify work with asbestos-containing materials to be meaningful

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Non-Occupational Exposure.

Related studies

• Prevalence of obstructive lung disease in a general population: relation to occupational title and exposure to some airborne agents — P.S. Bakke, V. Baste, et al. (1991)
• Impact of occupational carcinogens on lung cancer risk in a general population — S. De Matteis, D. Consonni, et al. (2012)
• Occupational exposures and risk of stomach cancer by histological type — M. Santibañez, J. Alguacil, et al. (2012)
• Breast cancer and occupational exposures in women in Finland — E. Weiderpass, E. Pukkala, et al. (1999)
• A case-control study of occupational risk factors for laryngeal cancer — P. Wortley, T.L. Vaughan, et al. (1992)
• Occupational exposures and colorectal cancers: a quantitative overview of epidemiological evidence — E. Oddone, C. Modonesi, et al. (2014)

Browse more research in Lancet, or return to medical research.