Use of asbestos in the Israeli Defense Forces

Our plain-English summary of Use of asbestos in the Israeli Defense Forces, by Z. Schlezinger (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1986).

The study

• Author: Z. Schlezinger
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1986;10(5-6):539-41
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 004838).

Abstract

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have adopted the current standards for asbestos in the workplace (1 fiber/ml). Although average daily exposure to asbestos is relatively limited, nevertheless, the army personnel concerned are defined as "asbestos workers." Four main areas of asbestos use were monitored, and medical examinations of susceptible personnel were performed. Recommendations were suggested for improving conditions. The IDF is now in the process of eliminating the use of materials containing asbestos, with the aim of eliminating asbestos use in the IDF within a three-to five-year period.

In plain English

This report, by an officer of the IDF Medical Corps' Occupational Health Unit, described how asbestos was used and controlled in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). It was not a study of disease. Chrysotile was the main fiber, used in garage brake shoe and clutch repair, shipyard engine insulation, construction and textile clothing. In garages in 1979-1980, under a 2 fibers/ml standard, measurements exceeded it only in the filling (surface regrinding) process, whose workers made up 1% of the garage workforce. After the standard fell to 1 fiber/ml, levels above it were occasionally found at other work positions. The author reported the new standard had so far been well adhered to. For ship engine rooms, the report recommended finding a substitute for asbestos textile immediately. The first substitute still contained asbestos, treated to suppress dust, and workplace samples taken from it showed zero airborne asbestos. A second substitute, 98% silica, was now widely used. No medical examination results were given. About 90% of personnel were civilians, whom the IDF could not legally monitor medically. The IDF aimed to end asbestos use within three to five years.

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: Descriptive report of asbestos use, workplace air monitoring and control measures in a military organization; no health outcome data reported
• Who was studied: Israel Defence Forces personnel who worked with asbestos: vehicle mechanics in army garages, workers in textile workshops and ship engine rooms, and construction workers. No numbers of workers are given. About 90% of personnel were civilians, whom the IDF could not legally monitor medically. A mortality survey of former asbestos workers (soldiers only) was described as underway.
• Exposure: Mainly chrysotile, in brake shoe and clutch repair, ship engine insulation (asbestos textile and asbestos cement powder), indoor construction boards, and textile clothing
• Main results:
  • In 1979-1980, under a 2 fibers/ml standard, garage measurements exceeded the standard only in the filling process. The filling group made up 1% of the garage workforce.
  • After the standard was lowered to 1 fiber/ml, levels above the standard were occasionally found at other garage work positions as well
  • The author reported that the new 1 fiber/ml standard had so far been well adhered to in all IDF garages handling asbestos, and that most asbestos handling was being done in closed glove compartments
  • For engine-room workers, the report recommended immediately finding a substitute for asbestos textile. The first substitute still contained asbestos that had been treated to suppress dust, and environmental samples taken from it at workplaces showed zero airborne asbestos. A second substitute with 98% silica content was described as now widely used.
• The authors' conclusion: The author stated that the IDF was in the process of eliminating asbestos-containing materials, with the aim of ending asbestos use within three to five years
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The IDF could not legally carry out medical surveillance of civilian personnel (about 90% of personnel), which the author said created a problem for retrospective studies of civilians exposed during army service

Related studies

• Review of the Israeli Technical Committee for Asbestos — S. Brenner, Z. Anavi (1986)
• Mortality among shipyard Coast Guard workers: a retrospective cohort study — S. Krstev, P. Stewart, et al. (2007)
• An exposure study of bystanders and workers during the installation and removal of asbestos gaskets and packing — C. Mangold, K. Clark, et al. (2006)
• Sailors and the Risk of Asbestos-Related Cancer — R.A. Lemen, P.J. Landrigan (2021)
• Correlation between fibre content of the lungs and disease in naval dockyard workers — J.C. Wagner, C.B. Moncrieff, et al. (1986)
• Asbestos-related cancers among 28,300 military servicemen in the Royal Norwegian Navy — L.A. Strand, J.I. Martinsen, et al. (2010)

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