Prophylaxis of asbestos-induced diseases: studies and perspectives

Our plain-English summary of Prophylaxis of asbestos-induced diseases: studies and perspectives, by F.M. Kogan, E.V. Polzik (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1990).

The study

• Authors: F.M. Kogan, E.V. Polzik
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1990;18(1):95-9
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 003474).

Abstract

In recent years, implementation of dust-suppressing measures in USSR asbestos mills has led to significant decrease in dust levels. New cases of asbestosis and asbestotuberculosis in annual medical examinations have not been detected. For prevention of possible future incidence of these diseases, we plan to concentrate efforts on the medical selection of new employees, taking into account not only dust exposure, but also other ascertained risk factors (social, demographic, and biological, especially genetic). It seems to us that the grounds for complete prohibition of asbestos are insufficient. Substitution with alternative materials is discussed.

In plain English

This article was a commentary, not a new study, by two authors from a Sverdlovsk research institute in the USSR. The authors described how Soviet asbestos mills cut dust through mechanization, sealed equipment and better filters. They reported that new cases of initial-stage asbestosis fell from 30% in 1949 to 0.01% in 1986 and 1987, and that no second-stage asbestosis or asbestotuberculosis had been found recently. The article did not say how many workers these figures covered. Asbestos in mill air was estimated at 0.3 to 0.5 mg/m3. The authors noted that this did not rule out hidden, symptom-free asbestosis. They proposed not hiring the people a medical examination found most sensitive to asbestos dust, judged by social, biological and genetic factors, while admitting scientifically based selection criteria were lacking. Citing an earlier rat experiment using injection into the abdominal cavity, they argued that basalt fibers, a substitute, also caused peritoneal mesothelioma, though less often than chrysotile. The authors concluded that banning asbestos was insufficiently substantiated and that substitutes should meet the same safety requirements as 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: Commentary (opinion and overview article, mostly drawing on the authors' earlier work and other published studies; no new study methods described)
• Who was studied: Workers in USSR asbestos mills. No numbers of workers, specific mills or study periods are given for the figures reported.
• Exposure: Asbestos-containing dust in Soviet asbestos mills. The fiber type in the mills is not specified. Asbestos in mill air was estimated at 0.3 to 0.5 mg/m3 after dust-suppression measures.
• Main results:
  • Among USSR asbestos mill workers, new cases of initial-stage asbestosis fell from 30% in 1949 to 0.01% in 1986 and 1987. No denominators are given.
  • In the last few years, no cases of second-stage asbestosis or asbestotuberculosis were found, and the exposure period before diagnosis lengthened to 20 or more years.
  • Air recycling reduced the dust content in the mill shops to 3 to 4 mg/m3.
  • The authors proposed not hiring the persons found most sensitive to asbestos-containing dust at a medical examination, or else increasing individual resistance. They based the risk factors on social and biological factors from their own studies and on genetic predisposition studied through dermatoglyphics.
  • The authors cited an earlier rat experiment (Nikitina et al., 1989) in which fibers were injected into the peritoneal cavity (intraperitoneal injection), not inhaled. Peritoneal mesothelioma was found in 45% of chrysotile-exposed rats and 12.5% of basalt-fiber-exposed rats. The authors described basalt fibers as oncogenic, though less so than chrysotile.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that strict dust suppression can nearly eliminate new asbestosis cases in asbestos mills. They also concluded that banning asbestos is, in their opinion, insufficiently substantiated, and that substitutes must meet the same safety requirements as asbestos.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors acknowledged that the fall in diagnosed cases does not exclude hidden, symptom-free asbestosis.
  • The authors acknowledged that selecting workers by sensitivity is hampered by a lack of scientifically based selection criteria.

Topics

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

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