Asbestos 853 results

"Objective
This paper discusses the failure and success of society to decrease the adverse health effects of asbestos exposure on workers' health in relation to scientific knowledge.
Methods
The findings are based on a narrative literature review.
Results
Early warnings of the adverse health effects of workplace exposure to asbestos were published already in the 1930s. Serious health effects, such as malignancies and fibrosis due to occupational asbestos exposure, were highlighted in major medical journals and textbooks in late 1960s. New technologies could detect also asbestos fibers in the lung of non-occupational exposed persons in the 1970s. The first bans for using asbestos came in the early 1970s, and more general bans by authorities came in the 1980s and continue until today.
Conclusions
The rather late recognition of adverse effects of asbestos exposure in the general population and measures to decrease the exposure through more general bans came rather late. However, the very strong measures such as general bans in many countries have been a success. A Swedish study showed that the general ban and other measures have decreased the risk of malignancies due to occupational exposure. The effect of the bans on adverse effects in the general population has yet to be studied. Analysis of fibers in the lungs of persons born after the bans could be an efficient method."

"Background
Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and is causally associated with malignant mesothelioma, lung, larynx and ovarian cancers.
Methods
Cancer risk was studied among a pool of formerly asbestos-exposed workers in Italy. Fifty-two Italian asbestos cohorts (asbestos-cement, rolling-stock, shipbuilding, and other) were pooled and their mortality follow-up was updated to 2018. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were computed for major causes of death considering duration of exposure and time since first exposure (TSFE), using reference rates by region, age and calendar period.
Results
The study included 63,502 subjects (57,156 men and 6346 women): 40% who were alive, 58% who died (cause known for 92%), and 2% lost to follow-up. Mortality was increased for all causes (SMR: men = 1.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03−1.05; women = 1.15, 95% CI 1.11−1.18), all malignancies (SMR: men = 1.21, 95% CI 1.18−1.23; women = 1.29, 95% CI 1.22−1.37), pleural and peritoneal malignancies (men: SMR = 10.46, 95% CI 9.86−11.09 and 4.29, 95% CI 3.66−5.00; women: SMR = 27.13, 95% CI 23.29−31.42 and 7.51, 95% CI 5.52−9.98), lung (SMR: men = 1.28, 95% CI 1.24−1.32; women = 1.26, 95% CI 1.02−1.53), and ovarian cancer (SMR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.08−1.84). Pleural cancer mortality increased during the first 40 years of TSFE (latency), reaching a plateau thereafter.
Conclusions
Analyses by time-dependent variables showed that the risk for pleural neoplasms increased with latency and no longer increases at long TSFE, consistent with with asbestos clearance from the lungs. Peritoneal neoplasm risk increased over all observation time."

"Entre 1972 et 1993, 1800 agents de l'Insee, du Trésor Public et du ministère des Affaires étrangères ont été exposés intensément aux flocages d'amiante dans la tour Tripode Beaulieu de Nantes. Très rapidement, à l'instar des voix dénonçants la dangerosité de cette fibre, travailleurs et syndicalistes du Tripode se mobilisent et font pression sur leur employeur : l'Etat, à la fois législateur et patron. Le bâtiment est finalement évacué en 1992-1993 et rasé en 2005 après de longs travaux de désamiantage. Restent les malades et ceux craignant de l'être un jour...
Sous la forme d'une histoire dessinée, ce livre raconte le combat mené dans l'unité syndicale depuis près de quarante ans pour briser le mur de silence entourant l'utilisation de cette "poussière du diable""

"Les Archives de France ont mis en place un protocole prenant en compte le risque d'importation d'une contamination lors du versement de fonds provenant de locaux comportant des matériaux et produits contenant de l'amiante. La présence d'amiante dans l'air lors du test de manipulation entraîne alors la décontamination des archives et du local par une entreprise certifiée, et l'enregistrement des expositions du personnel concerné. Il convient de préciser qu'avant son interdiction, l'amiante utilisé dans les matériaux de construction en France était majoritairement du chrysotile (95 %), de la crocidolite et de l'amosite. Lorsque des prélèvements surfaciques effectués ont mis en évidence des fibres d'anthophyllite pour deux séries de documents, alors que les prélèvements d'air dans les magasins correspondants étaient négatifs, les Archives de Paris ont demandé l'appui de l'INRS pour déterminer l'origine de la contamination par cette variété d'amiante. Annexe : Ce complément à l'étude de cas présente un ensemble de recherches menées pour déterminer l'origine possible des fibres d'anthophyllite — amiante identifiées lors de cette étude."

"Background:
The association between asbestos exposure and ovarian cancer has been questioned given the possible misdiagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma as ovarian cancer.
Aims:
To update a systematic review on ovarian cancer risk in women occupationally exposed to asbestos, exploring the association with the time since first exposure and the duration of exposure.
Methods:
We searched PubMed from 2008 onwards, screened previous systematic reviews, combined standardized mortality ratios (SMR) using random effect models and quantified heterogeneity using the I2 statistic. To assess tumour misclassification, we compared the distribution of observed excess ovarian cancers (OEOC) to that expected (EEOC) from the distribution of peritoneal cancers in strata of latency and exposure duration.
Results:
Eighteen publications (20 populations), including a pooled analysis of 21 cohorts, were included. The pooled SMR was 1.79 (95% confidence interval 1.38-2.31), with moderate heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 42%), based on 144 ovarian cancer deaths/cases. The risk was increased for women with indirect indicators of higher exposure, longer duration and latency, and lower for chrysotile than for crocidolite exposure. The effect of duration and latency could not be completely disentangled, since no multivariate analysis was available for time-related variables. The dissimilarity index between OEOC and EEOC for the time since first exposure was small suggesting a similar pattern of risk.
Conclusions:
While some misclassification between ovarian and peritoneal cancers cannot be excluded, the observed excess risk of ovarian cancer should be added to the overall disease burden of asbestos."

"Background
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph conducted a systematic review of the relationship between asbestos and ovarian cancer. However, there may have been information bias due to the undue weight given to few articles. To address this limitation, the present study performed a meta-analysis integrating studies published both before and after the 2012 IARC Monograph on Asbestos, with the aim of investigating the association between asbestos exposure and ovarian cancer.
Methods
A comprehensive search of major journal databases was conducted to identify studies examining the relationship between asbestos exposure and ovarian cancer, including those featured in the 2012 IARC Monograph on Asbestos. A meta-analysis on asbestos exposure and cancer risk was performed.
Results
The meta-analysis of studies published after the 2012 IARC Monograph on Asbestos found a summary Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) of 2.04 (95% CI: 1.03—4.05; p = 0.0123; 5 studies), with a significant degree of heterogeneity among the studies (I2 = 72.99%). The combined analysis of 15 studies before and after the 2012 IARC Monograph showed an overall summary SMR of 1.72 (95% CI: 1.43—2.06; p = 0.0349; 15 studies), with a moderate degree of heterogeneity (I2 = 42.99%).
Conclusion
This meta-analysis provides evidence of a significant association between asbestos exposure and ovarian cancer mortality. While the possibility of misdiagnosis in earlier studies cannot be completely ruled out, recent findings suggest a robust correlation between asbestos exposure and ovarian cancer. This highlights the importance of sustained efforts to minimize asbestos exposure and protect public health."

"L'immeuble Tripode, qui abritait des bureaux ministériels à Nantes en France, a été détruit en 2005. Il contenait 350 tonnes d'amiante. Francis Judas, syndicaliste, qui a joué un rôle déterminant dans la lutte pour la reconnaissance des maladies professionnelles des salariés dues à l'exposition à l'amiante dans le bâtiment, nous raconte l'histoire de cette lutte et explique pourquoi une exposition tout au long de la journée de travail à 10000 fibres par mètre cube équivaut à une menace de mort pour les travailleurs."

"The Tripode building in Nantes, France, which housed government offices, was destroyed in 2005. It contained 350 tonnes of asbestos. Trade union delegate Francis Judas, who was instrumental in the fight to secure recognition of the occupational illnesses of employees caused by exposure to asbestos in the building, tells HesaMag the story of the Tripode and explains why exposure throughout the working day to 10,000 fibres per cubic metre is equivalent to a death threat for workers."