Documents insulating materials 13 results

"Background:Coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs) in Mongolia use various types of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in thermal insulation of piping systems, furnaces, and other products.Objective:To investigate the occupational exposure of insulation workers to airborne asbestos in Mongolian power plants.Methods:Forty-seven air samples were collected from four power plants in Mongolia during the progress of insulation work. The samples were analyzed by phase contrast microscopy (PCM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).Results:The average phase contrast microscopy equivalent (PCME) asbestos fiber concentration was 0·93 f/cm3. Sixteen of the 41 personal and one of the area samples exceeded the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (US OSHA) short-term exposure limit of 1·0 f/cm3. If it is assumed that the short-term samples collected are representative of full-shift exposure, then the exposures are approximately 10 times higher than the US OSHA 8-hour permissible exposure limit of 0·1 f/cm3.Conclusion:Power plant insulation workers are exposed to airborne asbestos at concentrations that exceed the US OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit. Action to mitigate the risks should be taken in Mongolia."

Background Because of the rarity of peritoneal mesothelioma, occupational risks associated with it have seldom been studied, particularly among women. In this respect, death certificates databases may provide numbers large enough for analysis, although the International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision (ICD-9) does not single out mesothelioma from the rest of peritoneal cancers. The aim of this paper is twofold: to explore occupational risks of peritoneal cancer among men and women, and to test the performance of a job-exposure matrix in detecting its association with asbestos exposure using the occupation and industry reported in the death certificate. Methods From a large database containing information on the 1984-1992 death certificates of 24 U.S. states, we identified 657 deaths from peritoneal cancer and 6,570 controls who died from non-malignant diseases, 1:10 matched by region, gender, race, and 5-year age group. Results Occupations at risk included insulators among men, and machine operators among women. Among men, we found a significant increase in risk associated with employment in manufacturing industries, such as industrial and miscellaneous chemicals; miscellaneous non-metallic mineral and stone products; construction and material handling machines; and electrical machinery, equipment, and supplies; as well as in services to dwellings and other buildings. Industries at increased risk among women included elementary and secondary schools; miscellaneous retail stores; and publishing and printing. Our job-exposure matrix classified 17 male cases and 3 controls in the high probability category of exposure to asbestos (OR = 61.6). Among men, risk of peritoneal cancer increased significantly by probability and intensity of exposure to asbestos. No such pattern was observed among women. The job-exposure matrix did not classify any female subjects in the high probability or intensity of asbestos exposure. Discussion This study provides evidence that death certificate data and job-exposure matrices are useful tools to observe well-established associations, such as the one existing between peritoneal cancer and asbestos exposure among men, in spite of crude information, disease misclassification, and occupational misclassification. These factors are more likely to preclude meaningful results among women.

Objectives—To investigate whether application of insulation wool adversely affects lung volumes and increases the occurrence of symptoms of airway irritation. Methods—Data from nationwide health check ups in 1981–93 of male construction workers born in 1955 or later were used to investigate cross sectional (n=96 004) and longitudinal (n=26 298) associations between lung volumes, vital capacity (VC), and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and exposure to insulation wool by combining a job exposure matrix (JEM) and self reported exposure. Data on 12 month prevalence of persistent cough not associated with the common cold was available for the period 1989–92. Potential confounding from smoking, exposure to asbestos, silica, and isocyanates, was considered in the analyses. Results—For those in the highest exposure category (self reported duration of exposure of ≥11 years, and high exposure according to the JEM) VC was on average 2.5 cl lower (95% CI −6.5 to 1.5) than in those with no exposure. The corresponding figures for FEV1 was −2.4 cl (95% CI −6.1 to 1.3). In the longitudinal analyses, the yearly change in VC between the first and last spirometry for those in the highest exposure category was 0.50 cl (95% CI −0.97 to 1.98) less than in the unexposed category. The corresponding figure for FEV1 was 0.89 cl (95% CI −0.70 to 2.06). High exposure to insulation wool, asbestos, or silica, during the 12 months preceding the check up was associated with increased odds ratios (ORs) for persistent cough of the same magnitude as current smoking. Conclusions—The results indicate no effects on VC or FEV1 from exposure to insulation wool. Recent exposure to insulation wool, asbestos, and silica was associated with an increased prevalence of persistent cough."

The effect of exposure to man made vitreous fibers (MMVF) on workers in the prefabricated wooden house manufacturing industry was investigated. A model was developed to measure the past exposure to MMVF of 478 insulators among a staff of 2,807 workers at 11 factories in Sweden. The insulators who had a mean employment time of 9.6 years and never used respirators were identified as the workers at greatest risk of exposure to MMVF. One hundred and twenty samples were taken of airborne fiber in 11 facilities to determine current exposure levels. Using the model to estimate past exposure the highest mean fiber exposure level for insulators was calculated as 0.18 fiber/milliliter (f/ml), which occurred during the mid 1970s, compared to 0.10 f/ml at the end of the 1980s and the early 1960s. Changes in production rate, improved ventilation control, and the surface area of the total amount of MMVF sheets handled by the insulator were the most important variables in the model. No increased risk of lung cancer was found for the insulators who were presently working in the house prefabrication industry.

"Several studies were designed and conducted to evaluate amphibole asbestos exposures in homes containing Zonolite (expanded vermiculite) attic insulation (ZAI). A range of tasks selected for evaluation included cleaning, working around, moving, and removal of ZAI in attics and living spaces. The fieldwork for these studies was conducted at two homes in Spokane, WA and one home in Silver Spring, MD. Personal and area air samples were collected and analyzed as part of the exposure studies. Surface dust samples and bulk samples were also collected and analyzed. The results demonstrated that airborne concentrations of amphibole asbestos were not elevated if the material is undisturbed. The results also demonstrated that cleaning, remodeling, and other activities did produce significant concentrations of airborne amphibole asbestos when the ZAI was disturbed."

"Written by one of the leading asbestos experts for both plaintiff and defense attorneys, occupational and environmental health professionals, as well as others in the field of toxic substances control, Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects has become the definitive resource on the medical and legal aspects of asbestos.
Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects provides a comprehensive examination of the public health history of asbestos, from the origins of industrial use to the present. It includes in-depth coverage of prior and ongoing litigation; extensive evaluation of the legal arguments put forth by plaintiff and defense counsel; and provides crucial information, materials and resources on the evolving corporate knowledge of asbestos hazards. The book covers in detail: asbestosis and cancer; compensability of asbestosis and cancer as occupational diseases; thresholds and standards used to determine safe or acceptable levels of asbestos exposure in the workplace; and company knowledge of asbestos hazards, gleaned from countless depositions, company records, industry consultants and trade associations.
Some items new to the Fifth Edition include:
- extensive discussion of corporate knowledge and responsibility for asbestos hazards
- extensive examination of the international struggle over asbestos, whereby some countries have banned asbestos while others have continued to expand their usage of asbestos in building materials
- detailed discussion of alternatives to asbestos."

"Beyond the Factory Gates examines the issue of asbestos and health in the USA between the early 1900's to the mid-1970s. Areas covered include the emergence of medical concern about the three fatal diseases related to asbestos (asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma); the actions of the US Navy (the main consumer of asbestos-based insulation products); the response of the federal government before and after enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970; and the roles of organized labour and the asbestos industry.

The book provides an important insight into occupational health and its regulation in twentieth century America, and is original in several ways. First, there is no satisfactory history of asbestos, health and medicine in the USA - a major gap in the literature. Second, no previous publication has examined the asbestos issue 'beyond the factory gates' in a non-manufacturing context and explored the complex interactions between organised labour, the US Government, business corporations and the US navy. Finally, Beyond the Factory Gates avoids the one-sided, anti-business interpretations that predominate much of the existing literature. It accepts that the history of asbestos is in many ways a human tragedy, but it rejects simplistic, universalised arguments that this has been a tragedy with a cast only villains, dupes and victims."