Search Results (4)

Objectives: To examine the risk of cancer in former school children exposed to environmental asbestos in childhood with a focus on female cancers, including breast cancer. Methods: We retrieved a cohort of females (n = 6024) attending four schools located in the neighborhood of a large asbestos cement plant in Denmark. A reference cohort was frequency-matched 1:9 (n = 54,200) in sex and five-year age intervals. Using Danish registries, we linked information on historical employments, relatives’ employments, cancer, and vital status. We calculated standardized incidence rates (SIRs) for all and specific cancers, comparing these rates with the reference cohort. Hazard ratios were calculated for selected cancers adjusted for occupational and familial asbestos exposure. Results: For cancer of the corpus uteri (SIR 1.29, 95% CI 1.01–1.66) and malignant mesothelioma (SIR 7.26, 95% CI 3.26–16.15), we observed significantly increased incidences. Occupationally, asbestos exposure had a significantly increased hazard ratio for cancer in the cervix, however, a significantly lower risk of ovarian cancer. The overall cancer incidence was similar to that of the reference cohort (SIR 1.02, 95% CI 0.96–1.07). The risk of cancer of the lung was increased for those exposed to occupational asbestos, those with family members occupationally exposed to asbestos and for tobacco smokers. Conclusions: In our study, environmental asbestos exposure in childhood is associated with an increased risk of cancer of the corpus uteri and malignant mesothelioma in women. Full article

Although exposure to asbestos via various routes has been acknowledged, comprehensive exposure and risk assessment methods have not been developed at the national level. We conducted a study to reconstruct comprehensive past asbestos exposure estimations and to suggest a method to calculate the Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) of Koreans. The past occupational exposure reconstruction was conducted by rebuilding the previous general population job-exposure matrix (JEM). The para-occupational and household exposure estimation was based on the pooled analysis of data from other countries as well as Korea. The neighborhood exposure from occupational sources by distance was estimated by the exponential decay model. As a result, 141 JEM exposure groups across four periods including ~79, the 80s, 90s, 2000s with a ratio of 2.0:1.0:0.5:0.05 were reconstructed. The para-occupational and household exposures were 11% and 1% of the JEM respectively. The environmental exposure source concentration from outside occupational exposure was 2.5% of the inside concentration. The ratio of the concentration of environmental exposure source (C₀) to distance d (C_d) was $ex{p}^{-kd}$ with a decay constant k of 6.834. The mean concentrations (f/cc) were 2.28 × 10⁻³ for outdoor, 4.65 × 10⁻⁵ for indoor, 1.95 × 10⁻² for transportation activity, 4.44 × 10⁻² for agricultural activity, and 4.68 × 10⁻² for daily life activity in naturally occurring asbestos areas. Indoor and outdoor asbestos concentrations from living in a slate roof house were 1.73 × 10⁻⁶ and 2.70 × 10⁻⁸, respectively. For improved generalizability, validity, and applicability of the proposed method, further studies on each route with real assessments and experiments are required. Full article

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between various asbestos exposure routes and asbestos-related disorders (ARDs). The study population comprised 11,186 residents of a metropolitan city who lived near asbestos factories, shipyards, or in slate roof-dense areas. ARDs were determined from chest X-rays indicating lower lung fibrosis (LFF), pleural disease (PD), and lung masses (LMs). Of the subjects, 11.2%, 10.4%, 67.2% and 8.3% were exposed to asbestos via occupational, household, neighborhood, and slate roof routes, respectively. The odds ratio (OR) of PD from household exposure (i.e., living with asbestos-producing workers) was 1.9 (95% confidence interval: 0.9–4.2), and those of LLF and PD from neighborhood exposure, or residing near asbestos factories) for <19 or >20 years, or near a mine, were 4.1 (2.8–5.8) and 4.8 (3.4–6.7), 8.3 (5.5–12.3) and 8.0 (5.5–11.6), and 4.8 (2.7–8.5) and 9.0 (5.6–14.4), respectively. The ORs of LLF, PD, and LM among those residing in slate-dense areas were 5.5 (3.3–9.0), 8.8 (5.6–13.8), and 20.5 (10.4–40.4), respectively. Substantial proportions of citizens residing in industrialized cities have potentially been exposed to asbestos, and various exposure routes are associated with the development of ARDs. Given the limitations of this study, including potential confounders such as socioeconomic status, further research is needed. Full article

Although workplace asbestos concentrations (AC) have been reported several times, the past environmental AC are relatively poorly studied. Due to the harmful effects of the asbestos industry, production has moved from early industrialized countries (Japan), to late industrialized countries (Korea), and finally to industrializing countries (Indonesia). The purpose of this study was to determine current occupational exposure levels and evaluate neighborhood environmental exposure levels in an Indonesian asbestos textile factory through collaboration among three generation of industrialized countries. Asbestos concentrations were measured inside and outside of the factory and compared with simulated data. ACs in the factory were similar to those of 1980s and 1990s levels in the Korean factory that transferred the machines. Environmental ACs were dispersed according to wind direction. There were no significant differences between monitored and simulated data, and correlation coefficients between downwind, upwind, and middle wind directions were high, with some statistical significance. This study can be used to estimate past environmental ACs to understand the causality of asbestos related diseases. Because of the small sample size and specific weather conditions, a large-scale study of various asbestos exposure sources, including asbestos cement factories, shipyards, and mines, and various atmospheric conditions is required. Full article