Review of the Israeli Technical Committee for Asbestos

Our plain-English summary of Review of the Israeli Technical Committee for Asbestos, by S. Brenner, Z. Anavi (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1986).

The study

• Authors: S. Brenner, Z. Anavi
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1986;10(5-6):527-32
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The concern of the Israeli public regarding health hazards arising from asbestos use led to the formation of a governmental body responsible for finding solutions to these problems. This body was formed in 1983 as a National Medical Committee and included representatives from governmental and nongovernmental bodies. The Israeli Technical Committee for Asbestos, which serves as a subsidiary of the National Medical Committee, is concerned with the technical aspects associated with health hazards associated with asbestos and other harmful dusts. This report describes the major activities of the Technical Committee during the last 2 years.

In plain English

This was not a research study but a report on two years' work, including ten meetings, of the Israeli Technical Committee for Asbestos. It kept Israel's eight-hour time-weighted workplace limit of 1 fiber/cm3, called quite stringent by international standards, and adopted an action level of 0.25 fibers/cm3. Workplace measurements were usually within limits; the main concerns were small operations such as garages and, in special cases, diamond-cutting factories. Air samples near an asbestos-cement plant in Nahariya did not so far indicate harmful concentrations, but more samples and better analyses were needed. Of 740 water sources, four were classed as aggressive, 16 as needing surveillance and 720 as suitable. The report stated there was currently no evidence of human disease hazard from asbestos-cement drinking-water pipes, provided precautions were taken with connecting pipes and network dead points and water velocity stayed below 6 m/s. The committee recommended banning two asbestos products; after its discussions, the Ministry of Health issued waste-disposal instructions. The authors believed, even without sufficient medical evidence, that most inorganic mineral fibers should be considered as dangerous 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: Report of the activities of a government advisory committee (not a research study)
• Who was studied: The Israeli Technical Committee for Asbestos, with members from industry and from the Ministries of Health, Labor, and Commerce and Industry. It held ten meetings over two years, and its work covered workplaces, the general environment and water sources in Israel.
• Exposure: The committee advised on asbestos, listed in the article as amosite, "chrysolite", crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite, and also on talc and crystalline silicon dioxide. Its topics included workplace air, public air, emissions, asbestos-cement drinking-water pipes, substitutes and waste.
• Main results:
  • Israel's workplace standard of 1 fiber/cm3 was judged quite stringent, and no change was recommended.
  • In Appendix I, the 1 fiber/cm3 limit for asbestos (all forms) appears under the column for time-weighted permissible exposure over 8 hours.
  • An action level of 0.25 fibers/cm3, a European Community concept, was adopted to guide how often workplace measurements are made.
  • Workplace asbestos measurements were usually within limits. The main concerns were small-scale operations such as garages and, in special cases, diamond-cutting factories.
  • Air measurements in Nahariya at various distances from a major asbestos-cement plant so far did not indicate harmful concentrations.
  • The emission standard was tentatively changed to 0.1 mg asbestos per m3. Recent samples from colergang suction stacks were above the standard, and steps were taken to eliminate the problem.
  • In a Ministry of Health survey of 740 water sources, 4 were classified as aggressive, 16 as "should be under surveillance" and 720 as "suitable waters".
  • It was determined that there was currently no evidence of human disease hazard from asbestos-cement drinking-water pipes. This was on condition that precautions are taken with connecting pipes and dead points in the network, and that water velocity is kept below 6 m/s.
  • The committee recommended banning drying fans with asbestos insulation and asbestos-coated wire nets used in gas burners.
  • The committee discussed how to implement the existing regulations on asbestos waste. After these discussions, the Ministry of Health issued disposal instructions to regional sanitary health engineers.
  • It was recommended that the workplace standard of 1 fiber/cm3 be adopted for all mineral fibers, such as glass and ceramic fibers and rock wool.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated their belief that, as a practical public health approach, most inorganic mineral fibers should currently be considered as dangerous as asbestos fibers, even without sufficient medical evidence.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • More samples and better analyses were needed before any definite conclusion could be reached about asbestos in the air in Nahariya.
  • The view on mineral-fiber substitutes was stated to be held without sufficient medical evidence.

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