Asbestos Exposure and Disease: An Update

Dear Colleagues,

Adverse health effects caused by asbestos exposure are an important global health issue. In industrialized countries, asbestos exposure is minimized by effective protection policies, of the foremost being the ban on the manufacture and use of asbestos products. In contrast, in emerging economy countries asbestos is still largely mined and used. Occupational exposure, traditionally the most important source of exposure, is also accompanied by domestic and environmental exposure. The latter is produced by environmental pollution from asbestos industry, but it is also the legacy left by asbestos in place, until it is safely removed. In the countries where anti-asbestos policies have been effectively applied, malignant mesothelioma has become the neoplasm of greatest relevance, with rates that are still increasing or showing a plateau, depending on the time from the ban. Little is known about epidemiology of asbestosis and lung cancer, as well as of mesothelioma, in the countries where the use of control measures is more limited. Amphiboles (crocidolite and amosite) were the most dangerous asbestos types to the pleura and now they have been entirely replaced by chrysotile in the current products. Epidemiological studies on the cohorts of chrysotile workers are surprisingly few, despite the large number of people exposed and more evidence would be useful to describe the risks associated to chrysotile exposure in current conditions. In recent years, studies also underlined the health risks from asbestos—like minerals, such as erionite and fluoro-edenite. These minerals do not have industrial uses and the information on the occurrence is limited, however they are responsible for important local outbreaks of mesothelioma and little is known regarding other possible health effects. This Special Issue will welcome contributions on asbestos-related diseases, fibers characterization, exposure assessment, risk modification with cumulative exposure, latency, and time since cessation, both for the specific asbestos types and for the asbestos-like minerals. Papers describing successful anti-asbestos policies, are welcome.

Prof. Corrado Magnani
Dr. Alison Reid
Dr. Eduardo Algranti
Dr. Daniela Ferrante
Guest Editors

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