Spatial analysis of asbestos exposure and occupational health care in Poland during the period 2004-2013

Our plain-English summary of Spatial analysis of asbestos exposure and occupational health care in Poland during the period 2004-2013, by M. Krówczyńska, E. Wilk (Geospatial Health, 2018).

The study

• Authors: M. Krówczyńska, E. Wilk
• Journal: Geospatial Health
• Published: 2018;13(2)
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Asbestos is carcinogenic to humans and exposure to this substance can cause a wide range of diseases. In Poland 1997, a statutory ban was introduced on the production, use and marketing of products containing asbestos. The National Programme for Asbestos Abatement for 2009-2032 includes scheduled activities considering asbestos exposure assessment and health protection. As there are several data sources for asbestos exposure in Poland, which are not linked, the aim of this study was to gather and order them developing a PostgreSQL database, an open-source, objectrelational system. The data gathered combines the following information: the quantity of asbestos-cement products in use, details of asbestos manufacturing plants, the results of the measurements of asbestos fibre concentrations in the air and cases of asbestos-related diseases. The relational database was then used to develop a spatial analysis of asbestos monitoring and exposure in Poland to demonstrate the current state of realisation of the National Asbestos Abatement Programme in the country for 2009-2032 with the use of geoinformation techniques. The use of a database on health aspects of occupational and environmental asbestos exposure was also proposed in Asbestos, Asbestosis, and Cancer: Helsinki Criteria update 2014.

In plain English

This study combined several separate Polish data sources on asbestos into one database and used it to map asbestos exposure and occupational disease in Poland for 2004-2013. The data covered asbestos-cement products in use, 28 asbestos manufacturing plants, measurements of asbestos fibres in the air, and asbestos-related diseases diagnosed among plant workers. The national abatement programme recorded about 14.5 million tons of asbestos-cement products, but the Asbestos Database recorded only 5.2 million tons. Air was measured in 1,037 communes, and none was measured in Lubuskie province. The highest average concentration reported for 2004-2005 was 8,229 fibres per cubic metre, measured in 2004 in the commune of Annopol. The correlation between fibre concentration and the amount of products in use was 0.54, and 0.65 when three provinces were excluded. Among examined workers, 2,654 cases of asbestosis (22.5%), 84 of lung cancer (0.7%) and 50 of pleural mesothelioma (0.4%) were diagnosed. The plant in Szczucin, which used crocidolite, had the most pleural mesothelioma cases (15). The authors concluded that their uniform database allows geographic analyses of these data.

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: Database development and descriptive spatial (GIS mapping) analysis of existing national data sources on asbestos products, air measurements, manufacturing plants and occupational disease
• Who was studied: Poland as a whole, with data organised by county and commune for 2004-2013, plus workers of the country's 28 asbestos manufacturing plants who were examined for asbestos-related disease
• Exposure: Quantity of asbestos-cement products in use (mainly roofing, facade cladding and water pipes), measured concentrations of asbestos fibres in the air, and occupational exposure at former asbestos manufacturing plants (crocidolite was used for pressure pipes at the Szczucin plant)
• Main results:
  • The National Abatement Programme recorded about 14.5 million tons of asbestos-cement products in Poland. The Asbestos Database recorded only 5.2 million tons.
  • Air concentrations of asbestos fibres were measured in 1,037 communes, which the article describes as 45.9% of all communes in Poland.
  • Nine communes recorded concentrations above 5,000 fibres per cubic metre: three in Lubelskie, three in Lodzkie, and one each in Małopolskie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie and Mazowieckie.
  • The highest average concentration the article reports for the years 2004-2005 was 8,229 fibres per cubic metre, measured in 2004 in the commune of Annopol in Lubelskie Province.
  • The correlation coefficient between asbestos fibre concentration and the average amount of asbestos-cement products in use was 0.54. It rose to 0.65 when Lubuskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie and Zachodniopomorskie were excluded.
  • In five provinces the average concentration was about 1,000 fibres per cubic metre. The authors interpreted this as a harmful impact on more than 12 million people.
  • Among examined patients (workers of asbestos manufacturing plants), the following diagnoses were made: 2,654 cases of asbestosis (22.5%), 84 of lung cancer (0.7%) and 50 of pleural mesothelioma (0.4%).
  • Lublin had the highest number of reported cases among asbestos workers: 559 in total, comprising 554 asbestosis, 4 lung cancer and 1 pleural mesothelioma.
  • Wierzbica (Radom County) had 472 cases in total: 452 asbestosis, 15 lung cancer and 5 pleural mesothelioma.
  • The plant in Szczucin, where crocidolite was used to make pressure pipes, had the highest number of pleural mesothelioma cases (15).
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that no system in Poland brought together the data on asbestos-related diseases and monitoring. They described the core of their work as building a uniform, coherent database that allows geoinformatic analyses.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors said the gap between the programme estimate and the Asbestos Database arose because many products were presumed disposed of before 2004, but there is no documentation of this.
  • Air measurements were uneven: none were taken in Lubuskie, and only 10.7% of communes were covered in Dolnośląskie.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Carcinogenic, Abatement, Asbestos-Cement, Helsinki Criteria.

Related studies

• Pleural mesothelioma in Poland: Spatial analysis of malignant mesothelioma prevalence in the period 1999-2013 — M. Krówczyńska, E. Wilk, et al. (2018)
• History of knowledge and evolution of occupational health and regulatory aspects of asbestos exposure science: 1900-1975 — C.A. Barlow, J. Sahmel, et al. (2017)
• Reply to Comment on Małgorzata Krówczyńska and Ewa Wilk. Environmental and Occupational Exposure to Asbestos as a Result of Consumption and Use in Poland. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 2611 — M. Krówczyńska, E. Wilk (2020)
• Retrospective Exposure Assessment Methods Used in Occupational Human Health Risk Assessment: A Systematic Review — F. Borghi, L.A. Mazzucchelli, et al. (2020)
• Association of occupational burnout and occupational exposure factors on psychological health among factory workers and miners: a propensity score analysis — Y. Lu, Z. Zhang, et al. (2021)
• Asbestos in Poland: occupational health problems — N. Szeszenia-Dąbrowska, B. Swiątkowska, et al. (2011)

Browse return to medical research.