Exposure to asbestos was evaluated in 131 patients with pleural malignant mesothelioma in the Paris area between 1986 and 1992 using data from a detailed specific questionnaire and light microscopy analysis of the retention of asbestos bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or lung tissue. Probable or definite exposure to significant levels of asbestos dust was identified in only 48 (36.6%) sub...

CONTEXT While a large number of studies indicate the risks of high-level exposures to asbestos in the workplace setting, a relatively small number of studies describe the risk of pleural disease related to "take-home" asbestos brought into the household by workers exposed to asbestos. Consequently, the risk of pleural disease in family members of asbestos-exposed workers is likely underapprecia...

Two ancient asbestos mines, one near Karystos, Greece, and the other southeast of Mount Troodos, Cyprus, were located in what we now know to be ophiolite terrane. Evidence suggests that asbestos was discovered and utilized in Cyprus, perhaps as long as 5,000 years ago, for manufacture of cremation cloths, lamp wicks, hats, and shoes. Some of the adverse health effects of asbestos became known o...

In 1964 it was first reported that asbestos workers had a higher risk of gastrointestinal cancer. This notion has persisted despite several studies that have found no increased risk. The risks of gastrointestinal cancer to workers exposed to asbestos were reassessed, based on the results of published studies on 32 independent cohorts of asbestos workers. Not all studies provided risk estimates ...

Asbestos carcinogenesis has been linked to the release of cytokines and mutagenic reactive oxygen species (ROS) from inflammatory cells. Asbestos is cytotoxic to human mesothelial cells (HM), which appears counterintuitive for a carcinogen. We show that asbestos-induced HM cell death is a regulated form of necrosis that links to carcinogenesis. Asbestos-exposed HM activate poly(ADP-ribose) poly...

National Specialty Society for Community Medicine Position Statement on Chrysotile Asbestos June 2010 Background The adverse health effects associated with exposure to asbestos exposure have been well established. Epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory studies have shown that asbestos is capable of causing lung cancer, mesothelioma, and a range of asbestos‐related diseases (International ...

Asbestos causes progressive pulmonary fibrosis (asbestosis), pleural disease (eVusion and pleural plaques), and malignancies such as bronchogenic carcinoma and malignant mesothelioma. Asbestos is a generic term for a group of naturally occurring hydrated silicate fibres whose tensile strength and resilient structural and chemical properties are ideally suited for various construction and insula...

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Since the promulgation of the first Federal Asbestos Standard by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1972, other federal agencies have modified the standard to better carry on their own unique missions. The instruments used to identify and measure asbestos, the sampling protocol, and the criteria used to define asbestos, have been modified to some degree. The Mine Safety and He...

Asbestos-related cancers such as malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer are an important issue in the world. There are many conflicts concerning economical considerations and medical evidence for these cancers and much confusion regarding details of the pathological mechanisms of asbestos-induced cancers. For example, there is uncertainty concerning the degree of danger of the iron-absent chrys...