Asbestos: health effects, incident management and toxicology Cookies on GOV.UKWe use some essential cookies to make this website work.We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.Accept additional cookiesReject additional cookiesView cookiesSkip to main content GOV.UK Navigation menu Menu Search GOV.UK HomeGovernmentEmergency preparation, response and recoveryGuidanceAsbestos: health effects, incident management and toxicologyInformation on asbestos, for use in responding to chemical incidents.From:UK Health Security AgencyPublished1 July 2014Last updated4 March 2024 — See all updatesGet emails about this pageDocumentsAsbestos: general
Asbestos Surveillance Program Aachen (ASPA): Cancer mortality among asbestos exposed power industry workers. The time between initial asbestos exposure and asbestos-related disease can span several decades. The Asbestos Surveillance Program aims to detect early asbestos-related diseases in a cohort of 8,565 power industry workers formerly exposed to asbestos. How does asbestos exposure patterns affect cancer mortality and the duration of latency until death? A mortality follow-up was conducted with available vital status for 8,476 participants (99 %) and available death certificates for 89.9 % of deceased participants. Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated for asbestos-related cancers. The SMR of mesothelioma and lung cancer were stratified by exposure duration, cumulative
Occupational exposure to ultrafine particles and lung cancer in a population exposed to asbestos. Ultrafine particles are present in ever greater quantities in the workplace and only one epidemiological study to date has found an association with the occurrence of lung cancer. To investigate the effect of occupational exposure to ultrafine particles on the risk of lung cancer. The ARDCO is a surveillance program involving retiree workers who had been exposed to asbestos during their working life. Exposure to ultrafine particles over the complete lifetime occupational history was assessed using the French job exposure matrix MATPUF. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). There was no association between exposure to ultrafine
Impact of Interventions to Prevent Asbestos-Related Respiratory Disease in an Exposed Worker Registry Using a Simplified G-computation. The Ontario Asbestos Workers Registry is a regulatory exposure registry obligating employers to report the number of work hours with asbestos containing materials for each of their workers. Currently, each worker is notified of the need for a medical examination once they have accrued 2,000 reported hours of work with asbestos. We sought to evaluate the impact on disease prevention of alternative policies limiting asbestos work hours among registry participants. A cohort of 26,164 asbestos workers were followed for cancer and non-malignant disease diagnoses between 1986 and 2019. Analyses of the association between cumulative asbestos work hours
Asbestos exposure, pleural plaques and digestive cancers. The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence and mortality from various digestive cancer sites and their potential link with pleural plaques, in a French cohort of workers previously occupationally exposed to asbestos. We conducted a 10-year follow-up study in 13,481 male subjects, included in the cohort between October 2003 and December 2005, for whom asbestos exposure was assessed by calculation of a cumulative exposure index (CEI) in equivalent fibres.years/mL for each subject. We conducted an incidence study and a mortality study. Complementary analysis was restricted to men who had performed at least one chest CT-scan (N = 4,794). We used a Cox model with age as the time axis variable, adjusted for smoking, time since first
The global burden of mesothelioma and its association with asbestos bans, 1990-2021: a population-based study. Mesothelioma, as a lethal consequence of asbestos exposure, poses a significant threat to high-risk populations. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 update provides an opportunity to examine current mesothelioma epidemiology and assess whether asbestos bans have effectively reduced . Estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) and period analysis of ASRs were employed to evaluate temporal trends in incidence and mortality. Data on global asbestos consumption and bans were collected from various sources to investigate their relationship with mesothelioma burdens. In 2021, global incident cases of mesothelioma slightly increased to 31,908 [29,643, 34,115], with 23,184 [21,553, 24,941
Asbestos ban policies and mesothelioma mortality in Greece. Malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that mostly affects the pleura and has a strong link to asbestos exposure. Greece banned the use of asbestos in 2005, however, the public was already aware of this substance in the 1980s. This research aims to present an overview of Greece's mesothelioma age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) from 1983 to 2019 by age, gender, and geographic region and to determine whether the actions to ban asbestos impacted these rates. Data were retrieved by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (HSA) from death certificates that mentioned mesothelioma as the cause of death from 1983 to 2019 with details on the residence, gender, and age. Statistical analysis was performed using PRISM 6.0 software
Asbestos-Related lung Cancer: An underappreciated oncological issue. Asbestos, a group of class I (WHO) carcinogenic fibers, is the main cause of mesothelioma. Asbestos inhalation also increases the risk to develop other solid tumours with lung cancer as the most prominent example [91]. The incidence of asbestos-related lung cancer (ARLC) is estimated to be to six times larger than the mesothelioma incidence thereby becoming an important health issue [86]. Although the pivotal role of asbestos in inducing lung cancer is well established, the precise causal relationships between exposures to asbestos, tobacco smoke, radon and 'particulate' (PM2.5) air pollution remain obscure and new knowledge is needed to establish appropriate preventive measures and to tailor existing screening practices
Resolving asbestos and ultrafine particulate definitions with carcinogenicity. As asbestos fibers and other fine particles have been studied extensively to correlate physical and chemical properties with their potential for negative human health impact on inhalation, there remains no concise definitions for the individual particle types nor collective considerations of combined variabilities . Extensive studies relating negative health to asbestos morphology, chemistry, surface effects, and biodurability form general qualitative bins of what is more likely causative or less, but do not provide enough information to quantitatively dismiss particles with parameters outside any given range. Further, natural mineral species and accessory mineralization makes standardization of universally
Lung cancer caused by asbestos: What a reporting pathologist needs to know. Asbestos is a carcinogen that can cause lung cancer. The suspicion that a lung cancer diagnosis may be associated with exposure to asbestos has no bearing on treatment. However, attributing an individual's lung cancer to asbestos exposure has important medicolegal implications and may impact public health measures and policy. Simultaneous exposure(s) to other carcinogens (such as tobacco smoke, silica and many others) adds complexity while trying to answer the causation question. The Helsinki criteria were formulated to assist attributing lung cancer to previous asbestos exposure. Surrogate markers can be used and include signs of asbestosis and pleural plaques. The most widely used criterion for the presence
Asbestos history and use. All six fiber types called asbestos can cause all the diseases related to exposure, including lung cancer. Known to the ancients, the modern history of asbestos hazards started in the 1890s with more and more data accumulating over time. Use increased exponentially in the middle of the 20th century with major use coming in construction and ship building. The recognition of asbestos as causing lung cancer dates to the early 1940s.
Assessing trends and burden of occupational exposure to asbestos in the United States: a comprehensive analysis from 1990 to 2019. This study aimed to analyze the trends and burden of occupational exposure to asbestos in the United States (U.S.) from 1990 to 2019, focusing on mortality rates, geographic distribution, age and sex patterns, and causes of death. Data on the number of deaths attributable to occupational exposure to asbestos were collected from 1990 to 2019 in the U.S. Joinpoint analysis was conducted to assess trends over time, and regression models were applied to calculate annual percentage changes (APC) and annual average percentage changes (AAPC). Geographic distribution was examined using mapping techniques. Age and sex patterns were analyzed, and causes of death were
Circulating tumor cell detection may offer earlier diagnosis in patients suspected of asbestos-related lung cancer. Asbestos-Related Lung Cancer (ARLC) presents ongoing diagnostic challenges despite improved imaging technologies. The long latency period, coupled with limited access to occupational and environmental data along with the confounding effects of smoking and other carcinogens adds , encompassing circulating DNA and circulating tumor cells (CTCs), have gained attention as novel diagnostic methods in lung cancer to screen high-risk populations including those exposed to asbestos. CTCs can be enumerated and molecularly profiled to provide predictive and prognostic information. CTC studies have not been undertaken in populations at risk of ARLC to date. The potential of CTCs to provide real
Environmental asbestos exposure and lung cancer. Apart from living near an asbestos industry site, mine, or in an asbestos-contaminated house, environmental asbestos exposure is observed in certain regions where the (natural) soil is 'contaminated' with asbestos (fibers). In this essay, we review the association between environmental asbestos exposure and lung cancer in Turkey. Other studies have also suggested that environmental asbestos exposure is able to increase the risk of lung cancer. Lung cancer associated with environmental asbestos exposure seems to be diagnosed at a younger age, and the risk for women is in the same range as that for men. Our data indicate that the relationship between exposure dose and risk is linear and that a safe threshold cannot be established. Therefore
Assessing the global burden of mesothelioma: trends, socioeconomic influences, and asbestos exposure: a retrospective cohort study. Mesothelioma is an uncommon type of cancer which has received little attention. This study aims to evaluate the global disease burden; trends of mesothelioma by age, sex, and geographic locations; and its risk factors on the population level. The Global Cancer Observatory in 2022 and 2019 Global Burden of Disease were accessed for mesothelioma incidence and its risk factors worldwide. Multivariable linear regression analyses was conducted to explore the associations between mesothelioma incidence and key predictors including Human Development Index (HDI), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, and occupational asbestos exposure, adjusting for age and sex across
Occupational asbestos exposure and survival among lung cancer patients. This study investigated the association between occupational asbestos exposure (OAE) and survival in patients with histologically confirmed lung cancer (LC). This monocentric study was conducted in the Comprehensive Cancer Centre Léon Bérard, Lyon, France. A systematic screening has been in place since 2014 for occupational was work-related. Demographics, clinical characteristics and survival data were extracted from medical records. The association between asbestos exposure and overall survival (hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals) was estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression. Overall, 702 patients were eligible to the present study, including 180 patients with OAE. In the crude analysis, LCs assessed
Does previous asbestos exposure increase the risk of a post coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) pleural effusion - a routine data study? Development of pleural effusion (PE) following CABG is common. Post-CABG PE are divided into early- (within 30 days of surgery) and delayed-onset (30 days-1 year) which are likely due to distinct pathological processes. Some experts suggest asbestos exposure may confer an independent risk for late-onset post-CABG PE, however no large studies have explored this potential association. To explore possible association between asbestos exposure and post-CABG PE using routine data. All patients who underwent CABG 01/04/2013-31/03/2018 were identified from the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) Database. This England-wide population was evaluated for evidence
Pleural plaques and the role of exposure to mineral particles in the Asbestos Post-Exposure Survey. Previous studies have inconsistently reported associations between Refractory Ceramic Fibers (RCF) or Mineral Wool Fibers (MWF) and the presence of pleural plaques (PP). Moreover, all these studies were based on Chest X-Ray, known to be associated with a poor sensitivity for the diagnosis of PP . Does the risk of pleural plaques increase with cumulative exposure to RCF, MWF and silica ? and if yes, do these dose-response relationships depend on the co-exposure to asbestos or conversely, are the dose-response relationships for asbestos modified by co-exposure to RCF, MWF and silica ? Volunteer workers were invited to participate in a CT-scan screening program for asbestos-related diseases
Guidelines on autopsy practice: Industrial/occupational-related lung disease deaths including asbestos CEff 290617 1 V2 Final Guidelines on autopsy practice Industrial/occupational-related lung disease deaths including asbestos June 2017 Series authors: Dr Michael Osborn, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Professor Jim Lowe, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Specialist authors : Dr Richard Attanoos, Cardiff & Vale University Health Board and Cardiff University Dr Allen Gibbs, Cardiff & Vale University Health Board Unique document number G151 Document name Guidelines on autopsy practice: Industrial/occupational-related lung disease deaths including asbestos Version number 2 Produced by The specialist content of this guideline has been produced by Dr Richard Attanoos
Management of Asbestos Containing Materials: A Detailed LCA Comparison of Different Scenarios Comprising First Time Asbestos Characterization Factor Proposal. This work addresses the complex issue of asbestos containing materials (ACMs) management, by focusing on the scenario of six municipalities comprised in the Reggio Emilia province of Emilia Romagna Italian region. Particularly, the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was applied in order to assess in a quantitative and reliable manner the human toxicity as well as the ecotoxicity impacts associated with all of the different phases of ACMs management. The latter comprises mapping of ACMs, creation of a risk map for defining priority of intervention, encapsulation and removal of ACMs, as well as the as obtained asbestos containing