UICC standard reference samples of asbestos

Our plain-English summary of UICC standard reference samples of asbestos, by V. Timbrell, J.C. Gibson, I. Webster (International Journal of Cancer, 1968).

The study

• Authors: V. Timbrell, J.C. Gibson, I. Webster
• Journal: International Journal of Cancer
• Published: 1968;3(3):406-8
• Cited by: 105 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

A la suite des recommandations faites en 1964 par le Groupe de travail " amiante et cancer " de l'UICC et dont l'application avait été examinée par un Comité spécial en 1965, des échantillons-étalons des cinq principaux types d'amiante ont été préparés par des chercheurs d'Afrique du Sud et du Royaume-Uni, avec l'aide des entreprises minières intéressées de divers pays.

Plusieurs laboratoires en étudient actuellement les propriétés physiques et chimiques. Les échantillons (en sachets de plastique de 500 g ou moins) peuvent être obtenus sur demande à la Pneumoconiosis Research Unit, Johannesburg, Afrique de Sud, ou à la P.R.U. de Penarth, Royaume-Uni.

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

In plain English

This 1968 article was a report describing how the UICC standard reference samples of asbestos were prepared. It was not a study of disease in people or animals. The authors explained that earlier experimental work had used asbestos samples that varied greatly and were poorly characterised. Following a recommendation by a UICC working group convened in 1964, mining companies sent 3,000 lbs each of South African amosite, Finnish anthophyllite, Canadian chrysotile pooled from eight mines, Rhodesian chrysotile and South African crocidolite to Johannesburg. Between August and October 1966 each lot was blended. One thousand lbs of each was stored unmilled, and about 1,200 lbs of each was milled in a single pass. The mill settings were chosen so the samples held roughly equal, high proportions of respirable dust and fibres up to 150-200 microns long. Mixing trials found that piling the material on the floor was only partly effective, while milling gave a satisfactory result at microscopic level. Checks of oil content were consistent enough for all the material to be used. A dispenser for inhalation experiments was also developed. The authors stated that such samples could promote uniform methods and reproducible results between research centres.

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 describing the collection and preparation of standard reference samples of asbestos for experimental research (not a study of health outcomes)
• Who was studied: No people or animals were studied. The material was five asbestos samples: South African amosite, Finnish anthophyllite, Canadian chrysotile (from eight mines), Rhodesian chrysotile and South African crocidolite. 3,000 lbs of each was sent to Johannesburg and prepared there in August to October 1966.
• Exposure: Amosite, anthophyllite, chrysotile (Canadian and Rhodesian) and crocidolite, all Grade IV on the Canadian scale or nearest equivalent, chosen to be relatively short-fibred with a minimum of rock
• Main results:
  • The mill chosen (the Classic Mill) could grind the fibre to the required fineness in a single pass. Earlier South African samples had needed many passes, which was impracticable for ton quantities and risked contamination.
  • Mill settings were chosen so that each standard sample would contain approximately equal (high) proportions of respirable dust, be distinctly fibrous, and contain fibres up to 150-200 microns long
  • Mixing trials showed that blending by forming successive piles on the floor was only partially effective. Subsequent milling gave a satisfactory result at microscopic level.
  • Chemical analysis of oil content in portions from separate bags of each fibre type was consistent enough for all the material to be used
  • For each sample, one thousand lbs was stored unmilled and approximately 1,200 lbs was milled to form the standard sample
  • A dispenser developed for inhalation experiments released any of the samples at 1 g per hour. It produced 12 mg per cubic metre of respirable dust in a 1.2 cubic metre exposure chamber, at 14 air changes per hour.
  • The samples were to be distributed free of charge by the Pneumoconiosis Research Units in Johannesburg and Penarth, with recipients paying freight
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that well-characterised reference samples could help establish uniform experimental methods and promote reproducibility of results between research centres. The samples were planned to be available for 10-15 years.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: UICC, Pneumoconiosis.

Related studies

• A simple dispenser for generating dust clouds from standard reference samples of asbestos — V. Timbrell, A.W. Hyett, et al. (1968)
• Further observations on the short-term retention and clearance of asbestos by rats, using UICC reference samples — A.P. Middleton, S.T. Beckett, et al. (1979)
• Carcinogenic implications of the lack of tremolite in UICC reference chrysotile — A.L. Frank, R.F. Dodson, et al. (1998)
• Major and trace element compositions of the UICC standard asbestos samples — D.R. Bowes, C.M. Farrow (1997)
• Geology, asbestos, and health — M. Ross (1974)
• In vivo studies on genotoxicity and cogenotoxicity of ingested UICC anthophyllite asbestos — C. Varga, G. Horváth, et al. (1996)

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