Editorial Low level exposure to asbestos: is there a cancer risk? In the early days of asbestos use when its harmful potential was not understood hygiene standards at the workplace were extremely low. Airborne dust concentrations were uncontrolled and fibre levels in excess of 100 per ml were not unusual. This type ofexposure led to the discovery that inhalation of asbestos produced pulmonary f...

Particles longer than 5 ?m and with a length/diameter ratio >3 are defined as fibers. Asbestos or other fibers still identified in residential environments due to the emission from asbestos-used building materials. The respiratory system is primary route of asbestos exposure; under residence time, asbestos-related adverse health effects inevitable. Currently, have been replaced man-made vitreou...

Asbestos-free gaskets have been used to seal flanged connections on various applications. This paper discusses the use of a different style of gasket and details the advantages and benefits resulting from such a change. The discussion includes an analysis, supported by laboratory testing and successful field experiences. The paper is sectioned into three case studies, each topic relating to a t...

Asbestos exposure is strongly associated with the development of malignant mesothelioma, yet the mechanistic basis of this observation has not been resolved. Carcinogenic transformation or tumor progression mediated by asbestos may be related to the generation of free radical species and perturbation of cell signaling and transcription factors. We report here that exposure of human mesothelioma...

Phase contrast microscopy (PCM) is a widely used analytical method for airborne asbestos, but it is unable to distinguish asbestos from non-asbestos fibers and requires time-consuming and laborious manual counting of fibers. Previously, we developed a high-throughput microscopy (HTM) method that could greatly reduce human intervention and analysis time through automated image acquisition and co...

BACKGROUND Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but fatal thoracic tumor, which in the majority of patients is caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos fibers. We aimed at presenting clinicopathological and treatment outcomes of 60 patients of MPM registered in our hospital cancer registry. MATERIALS AND METHODS Demographic characteristics of patients, exposure to asbestos, smoking ...

Exposure to asbestos causes cellular damage, leading to asbestosis, bronchogenic carcinoma, and mesothelioma in humans. The pathogenesis of asbestos-related diseases is complicated and still poorly understood. Studies on animal models and cell cultures have indicated that asbestos fibers generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) and cause oxidation and/or nitrosylation of proteins...