The many faces of asbestos disease

Our plain-English summary of The many faces of asbestos disease, by E.O. Longley (The Medical Journal of Australia, 1969).

The study

• Author: E.O. Longley
• Journal: The Medical Journal of Australia
• Published: 1969;2(21):1063-6
• Cited by: 5 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. 002470).

Abstract

Asbestosis is seen as one of the most significant medical problems deriving from industry in the present age. As not only asbestosis but also carcinoma of the lung and mesothelioma of the lung are accepted by the New South Wales Workers' Compensation (Dust Diseases) Board as compensable injuries provided that adequate industrial exposure to asbestos can be proven, it is important that all physicians should be acquainted with the three conditions and should, when they see conditions resembling carcinoma or mesothelioma of the lung, be alerted to make the fullest possible inquiries into the patient's industrial background and place of residence. The presence of asbestos bodies in the sputum or in the lung tissue indicates only that the patient has been industrially or environmentally exposed to asbestos, and not that the patient has pulmonary asbestosis.

PubMed has no abstract for this study. This is the authors' abstract, copied from the article.

In plain English

This 1969 article by an occupational health specialist in the New South Wales Department of Public Health was a narrative review, not a new study. It described asbestos bodies, asbestosis, asbestos carcinoma of the lung and peritoneum, and mesothelioma of the pleura and peritoneum, mostly citing earlier work. The author stressed that asbestos bodies in sputum or lung tissue show only exposure, not asbestosis. The author reported that spray application of asbestos to ceilings in Sydney had produced concentrations of up to 200 million particles per cubic foot. In the two confirmed and one unconfirmed mesothelioma cases seen in New South Wales since the Workers' Compensation (Dust Diseases) Act came into operation, there had been exposure to blue asbestos (crocidolite) more than 20 years earlier. The author stated that only crocidolite had been positively incriminated as a cause of mesothelioma and that its use in the state had been virtually eliminated. The author sought to allay fears that Sydney's air would cause a mesothelioma epidemic, and urged doctors to inquire fully into patients' work history and place of residence.

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: Narrative review of asbestos-related diseases, drawing on published literature and the author's experience in New South Wales
• Who was studied: No study population. The article reviewed published reports and the author's experience in New South Wales, including three mesothelioma cases (two confirmed, one unconfirmed).
• Exposure: Asbestos in general (chrysotile, amosite and crocidolite) in mining, crushing and refining, textile manufacture, lagging, brake lining manufacture, asbestos cement products and spray application to ceilings, as well as environmental exposure in city air
• Main results:
  • The author stated that asbestos bodies in sputum or lung tissue indicate only exposure to asbestos, not pulmonary asbestosis.
  • In spray application of asbestos to ceilings in Sydney, concentrations of up to 200 million particles per cubic foot were found. The author stated that local experience indicated the recommended maximum of 5 million particles per cubic foot does not offer adequate protection.
  • In the two confirmed and one unconfirmed mesothelioma cases seen in New South Wales since the Dust Diseases Act came into operation, there had been a definite period of exposure to blue asbestos more than 20 years earlier.
  • In all the asbestos carcinoma cases in the author's experience, the patient had reached, or was approaching, retiring age.
  • The author stated that practically all asbestos mesotheliomas reported overseas resulted from exposure to crocidolite, not amosite or chrysotile.
  • Cited from another study (Wagner et al. 1960), not this article's own finding: 32 of an original series of 33 patients with proven pleural mesotheliomas had been exposed to crocidolite.
  • Cited from another study (Doll 1955), not this article's own finding: asbestos workers faced a risk of lung cancer 10 times that of the general population.
• The authors' conclusion: The author wished to allay fears that inhaling Sydney's air would cause a great mesothelioma epidemic. The author also urged physicians who see conditions resembling carcinoma or mesothelioma of the lung to inquire fully into the patient's industrial background and place of residence.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Carcinoma, Mesothelioma, Asbestos Bodies, Sputum, Asbestosis.

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