Observations an atmospheric air pollution caused by asbestos

Our plain-English summary of Observations an atmospheric air pollution caused by asbestos, by A. Laamanen, L. Noro, V. Raunio (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1965).

The study

• Authors: A. Laamanen, L. Noro, V. Raunio
• Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• Published: 1965;132(1):240-5
• Cited by: 16 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy.

In plain English

This article reported two preliminary surveys of asbestos dust in the outdoor air around anthophyllite asbestos mines and a mill in Finland. In the first survey, from August 20 to November 28, 1961, dust collectors were placed at 13 sites around the mines, and the asbestos collected was measured by X-ray diffraction. The amount deposited depended on distance from the mines and mill. The site 0.5 km from the mines, with the mines to its southwest, collected almost three times as much as a site at a similar distance in nearly the opposite direction. Winds came mainly from the south or southwest. Sites sheltered by a hill or a forest collected less. The second survey, from June 25 to November 29, 1963, extended sampling to 50 km. Asbestos was found at sites 18 km and 27 km from the mines. Results at twin sites 25 km away, with the mines to their north, looked peculiar. Insects were found in sampling bottles there and at the 50 km site, and the authors surmised that the traces of asbestos came with the insects. The authors concluded that asbestos dust spread rather extensively from the mining and milling areas, varying with distance and prevailing winds.

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: Preliminary environmental air pollution survey using dust-deposit collectors (British Deposit Gauges), with asbestos measured by X-ray diffraction
• Who was studied: Outdoor sampling sites around asbestos mines and a mill in Finland: 13 sites in the first survey (August 20 to November 28, 1961), and sites up to 50 km away in five communities in the second survey (June 25 to November 29, 1963). No people were studied.
• Exposure: Asbestos dust deposited around mines producing anthophyllite asbestos and around the asbestos mill, measured in grams per 100 square metres per month
• Main results:
  • In the first survey, the amount of asbestos deposited at the observation points depended on the distance from the mines and the mill.
  • In the first survey, the site labelled 0.5 S.W. collected almost three times as much asbestos as a site at a corresponding distance in almost the opposite direction. The site was 0.5 km from the mines. The label gives the direction of the mines from the site, so the mines lay to its southwest.
  • The meteorological data indicated that winds came mainly from the south or southwest.
  • In the first survey, sites 2 S and 1 NW, located behind a hill and a forest, collected smaller amounts of dust than other points at the same distance.
  • In the second survey, the control site 4 S collected more asbestos than in the first survey, when it collected 0.8 g per 100 square metres per month. The authors explained this by more favorable wind directions and rainfall.
  • In the second survey, asbestos was found at the sites labelled 18 SE and 27 S. These sites were 18 km and 27 km from the mines, with the mines to their southeast and south respectively. The authors explained the findings by south or southwest winds of relatively high velocity.
  • Results at the twin sites labelled 25 N1 and 25 N2 looked 'rather peculiar'. These sites were 25 km from the mines, with the mines to their north. One sampling bottle there held hundreds of insects, and the sample labelled 50 N also held insects. The authors surmised that the traces of asbestos came with the insects.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that asbestos dust is disseminated rather extensively from the mining (quarrying) and milling areas, and that the degree of pollution varies with distance from the source and with the prevailing winds.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors described the observations as preliminary.
  • Insects found in some sampling bottles were not identified, and the authors noted the matter could have been checked microscopically.

Mines named here

Asbestos mines this study is about. Each mine's page says who ran it, when it worked, and what it produced.

• Paakkila mine, Finland

All asbestos mines

Related studies

• A comparison of impinger and membrane filter techniques for evaluating air samples in asbestos plants — H.E. Ayer, J.R. Lynch, et al. (1965)
• Developments in dust sampling and counting techniques in the asbestos industry — S. Holmes (1965)
• Present threshold limit value in the U.S.A. for asbestos dust: a critique — E.L. Schall (1965)
• Economics of dust control — D.W. Hills (1965)
• Dust measurement and monitoring in the asbestos industry — C.G. Addingley (1965)
• Contamination of the air with mineral fibers following the explosive destruction of buildings and fire — J.A. Hoskins, R.C. Brown (1994)

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