The use of wild animal models to detect evidence of environmental contamination by asbestos-like substance

Our plain-English summary of The use of wild animal models to detect evidence of environmental contamination by asbestos-like substance, by R. Puleio, M.R. Schiavo, G. Macaluso, et al (The Veterinary Record, 2013).

The study

• Authors: R. Puleio, M.R. Schiavo, G. Macaluso, C. Manno, G.R. Loria
• Journal: The Veterinary Record
• Published: 2013;172(15):398
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This short communication reported a study that used wild rodents as sentinels for environmental contamination by 5-fluoroedenite, an asbestos-like amphibole mineral, around Biancavilla, a town at the foot of Mount Etna in Catania, Italy. The authors trapped 61 wild rodents (Mus domesticus, Rattus rattus and Apodemus sylvaticus) in two one-week campaigns, one in early autumn and one in spring. Thirty-one came from the at-risk Biancavilla area and 30 from control woodland on Etna 15 km away. Lungs and lymph nodes were examined under the microscope and by scanning electron microscopy, including after dissolving lung tissue and filtering out the mineral residue. No lesions attributable to asbestos contamination were found. Fibres chemically classified as 5-fluoroedenite were seen in all five pooled samples of mouse lungs from the Biancavilla area after filtration. The article does not say how many animals each pool contained. No such fibres were found in the lungs of control-area rodents. The authors concluded that finding the fibres was proof the area is still contaminated. They said they hoped to sample more rodents to obtain more significant data about local risks.

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: Field sentinel study in wild animals (short communication): trapping of wild rodents, postmortem and histopathological examination, and scanning electron microscopy with chemical analysis of lung and lymph node tissue, comparing an at-risk area with a control area
• Who was studied: 61 wild rodents (Mus domesticus, Rattus rattus, Apodemus sylvaticus) trapped with 600 traps during two seasonal one-week campaigns (early autumn and spring; years not stated). Thirty-one came from the at-risk area around Biancavilla (the Monte Calvario quarry, surrounding countryside, town centre and outlying areas 1.5 to 2 km from the quarry). Thirty came from control Etna woodland 15 km from the contaminated site.
• Exposure: Environmental (airborne) exposure to 5-fluoroedenite fibre, an asbestos-like mineral of the amphibole group, from a local open-pit quarry whose sand was used in local building materials
• Main results:
  • Pathological examination found no lesions attributable to asbestos contamination.
  • Biancavilla (at-risk) area: mineral fibres chemically classified as 5-fluoroedenite were seen in all five pools of mouse lungs after membrane filtration.
  • Control area: scanning electron microscopy on 30 single lung sections from control-area rodents was negative, including with the filtering method.
  • Control woodland area: none of the rodents showed asbestos-like fibres in their lung extract.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that finding 5-fluoroedenite fibres in the rodents' respiratory tissues was proof that the area is still contaminated. They also wrote that the environmental risk for humans is still present despite the preventive measures, and that wild rodents can serve as indicators of environmental contamination.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors indicated that sampling a larger number of rodents would be needed to obtain more significant data about local risks.

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