we investigated the distribution of asbestos containing materials(acms) in korea for 15 school buildings built before and after 1990, including elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. in order to perform risk assessments of samples gathered from the buildings, the study used four different rules as the criteria: results from the ahera rule, the hse rule and the astm rule on acms we...

The epithelium of the hamster trachea in organ culture undergoes hyperplasia and squamous metaplasia after exposure to the amphibole types of asbestos, crocidolite and amosite. These changes are inhibited when the synthetic vitamin A analog, retinyl methyl ether, is incorporated into the culture medium. These findings suggest a possible use for retinoids in the prevention and treatment of respi...

A case of clinically and radiologically typical asbestosis manifesting in a 55 year old man occurred 36 years after a brief exposure period of less than one year. A transbronchial lung biopsy was performed but the samples were considered non-diagnostic. The diagnosis was supported by the use of bronchoalveolar lavage to obtain alveolar samples and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive ...

The efficiency of the light microscope with that of the electron microscope in detecting asbestos fibres in human lung tissue was computed. Necropsy material from 55 patients who had died from asbestos related diseases was analysed independently by phase contrast microscopy and electron microscopy. As expected the number of fibres identified using electron microscopy was higher than that identi...

Fibronectin (Fn) and tenascin (Tn) are two major extracellular matrix (ECM) glycoproteins that may have important roles both in fibrotic lung diseases and in lung tumors. The significance of Fn and Tn in human pleural mesothelial cells and pleural diseases is unclear. Transformed human pleural mesothelial cells (Met5A), primary cultures of mesothelial cells, and cultured mesothelioma cell lines...

We studied asbestos, vitreous fiber (MMVF10), and refractory ceramic fiber (RCF1) from the Thermal Insulation Manufacturers' Association fiber repository regarding the following: free radical damage to plasmid DNA, iron release, ability to deplete glutathione (GSH), and activate redox-sensitive transcription factors in macrophages. Asbestos had much more free radical activity than any of the ma...

The adsorption of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) on to three types of asbestos (chrysotile antophyllite, and amosite) and three types of manmade mineral fibres (MMMF) (rock wool, slag wool, and glass wool) in a physiological water solution was studied. Adsorption was determined from the decrease in the liquid concentration of BaP on the addition of the solid material. Results show that all the fibres wea...

The measurement of respiratory function and quantitative assessment of changes in lung morphology are described in a long-term study of asbestos-exposed guinea pigs. Resistance and dynamic compliance of the guinea pig respiratory system were measured non-destructively, and the tidal volume and rate of spontaneous breathing were also determined. A point counting technique was used with histologi...