Abstract
Libby, MT, USA, was the home to workers at a historical vermiculite mining facility and served as the processing and distribution center for this industrial product that was contaminated with amphibole asbestos. Several pathways of environmental asbestos exposure to the general population have been identified. The local clinic and health screening program collects data from participants on past occupational and environmental exposures to vermiculite and asbestos. Health studies among this population have demonstrated associations between amphibole exposure and health outcomes, but critical questions regarding the nature and level of exposure associated with specific outcomes remain unanswered. The objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive exposure assessment approach that integrates information on individuals’ contact frequency with multiple exposure pathways. For 3031 participants, we describe cumulative exposure metrics for environmental exposures, occupational exposures, and residents’ contact with carry-home asbestos from household workers. As expected, cumulative exposures for all three occupational categories were higher among men compared with women, and cumulative exposures for household contact and environmental pathways were higher among women. The comprehensive exposure assessment strategies will advance health studies and risk assessment approaches in this population with a complex history of both occupational and environmental asbestos exposure.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 6 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $43.17 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amandus HE, Althouse R, Morgan WK, Sargent EN, Jones R . The morbidity and mortality of vermiculite miners and millers exposed to tremolite-actinolite: Part Iii. Radiographic findings. Am J Ind Med. 1987; 11: 27–37.
Amandus HE, Wheeler R . The morbidity and mortality of vermiculite miners and millers exposed to tremolite-actinolite: Part Ii. Mortality. Am J Ind Med 1987; 11: 15–26.
Lockey JE, Brooks SM, Jarabek AM, Khoury PR, McKay RT, Carson A et al. Pulmonary changes after exposure to vermiculite contaminated with fibrous tremolite. Am Rev Respir Dis 1984; 129: 952–958.
Whitehouse AC . Asbestos-related pleural disease due to tremolite associated with progressive loss of lung function: serial observations in 123 miners, family members, and residents of Libby, Montana. Am J Ind Med 2004; 46: 219–225.
Meeker G, Bern A, Brownfield I, Lowers H, Sutley S, Hoefen T et al. The composition and morphology of amphiboles from the Rainy Creek Complex, near Libby, Montana. Am Mineral 2003; 88: 1955–1969.
Amandus HE, Wheeler R, Jankovic J, Tucker J . The morbidity and mortality of vermiculite miners and millers exposed to tremolite-actinolite: Part I. Exposure estimates. Am J Ind Med 1987; 11: 1–14.
Larson TC, Antao VC, Bove FJ . Vermiculite worker mortality: estimated effects of occupational exposure to Libby Amphibole. J Occup Environ Med 2010; 52: 555–560.
Sullivan PA . Vermiculite, respiratory disease, and asbestos exposure in Libby, Montana: update of a cohort mortality study. Environ Health Perspect 2007; 115: 579–585.
Noonan CW, Pfau JC, Larson TC, Spence MR . Nested case-control study of autoimmune disease in an asbestos-exposed population. Environ Health Perspect 2006; 114: 1243–1247.
Peipins LA, Lewin M, Campolucci S, Lybarger JA, Miller A, Middleton D et al. Radiographic abnormalities and exposure to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite in the community of Libby, Montana, USA. Environ Health Perspect 2003; 111: 1753–1759.
Pfau JC, Sentissi JJ, Weller G, Putnam EA . Assessment of autoimmune responses associated with asbestos exposure in Libby, Montana, USA. Environ Health Perspect 2005; 113: 25–30.
Winters CA, Hill WG, Rowse K, Black B, Kuntz SW, Weinert C . Descriptive analysis of the respiratory health status of persons exposed to Libby Amphibole asbestos. BMJ Open 2012; 2: e001552.
Noonan CW . Exposure matrix development for the Libby Cohort. Inhal Toxicol 2006; 18: 963–967.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Phase 2 Study Data Summary Report for Libby, Montana, Environmental Monitoring for Asbestos, Evaluation of Exposure to Airborne Asbestos Fibers During Routine and Special Activities. Denver, CO, 2006.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Activity-Based Sampling Summary Report, Operable Unit 4, Libby, Montana, Superfund Site. Denver, CO, 2010.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Sampling and Analysis Plan 2011 Miscellaneous Activity-Based Sampling Libby Asbestos Site, Operable Unit 4. Denver, CO, 2012.
Weis CP . Memorandum: Amphibole Mineral Fibers in Source Materials in Residential and Commercial Areas of Libby Pose an Imminent and Substantial Endangerment to Public Health. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Denver, CO. 2001.
Weis CP . Memorandum: Fibrous Amphibole Contamination in Soil and Dust at Multiple Locations in Libby Poses an Imminent and Substantial Endangerment to Public Health. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Denver, CO. 2001.
Ryan PH, Lemasters GK, Burkle J, Lockey JE, Black B, Rice C . Childhood exposure to Libby Amphibole during outdoor activities. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2013 (advance online publication 22 May 2013, doi:10.1038/jes.2013.26).
Scipy: Open Source Scientific Tools for Python [computer program] 2001.
Moran PA . Notes on continuous stochastic phenomena. Biometrika 1950; 37: 17–23.
Shirk AJ, Wallin DO, Cushman SA, Rice CG, Warheit KI . Inferring landscape effects on gene flow: a new model selection framework. Mol. Ecol 2010; 19: 3603–3619.
Adgate JL, Cho SJ, Alexander BH, Ramachandran G, Raleigh KK, Johnson J et al. Modeling community asbestos exposure near a vermiculite processing facility: impact of human activities on cumulative exposure. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2011; 21: 529–535.
Ewing WM, Hays SM, Hatfield R, Longo WE, Millette JR . Zonolite attic insulation exposure studies. Int J Occup Environ Health 2010; 16: 279–290.
Hart JF, Spear TM, Ward TJ, Baldwin CE, Salo MN, Elashheb MI . An evaluation of potential occupational exposure to asbestiform amphiboles near a former vermiculite mine. J Environ Public Health 2009; 2009: 189509.
Hart JF, Ward TJ, Spear TM, Crispen K, Zolnikov TR . Evaluation of asbestos exposures during firewood-harvesting simulations in Libby, Mt, USA—preliminary data. Ann Occup Hyg 2007; 51: 717–723.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Summary Report for Data Collected under the Supplemental Remedial Investigation Quality Assurance Project Plan (Sqapp) for Libby, Montana. Denver, CO, 2007.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Final Data Summary Report, Operable Unit 2 - Former Screening Plant and Surrounding Area, Libby Asbestos Site, Libby, Montana. Denver, CO, 2008.
Ward TJ, Hart JF, Spear TM, Meyer BJ, Webber JS . Fate of Libby amphibole fibers when burning contaminated firewood. Environ Sci Technol 2009; 43: 2878–2883.
Rice C, Heineman EF . An asbestos job exposure matrix to characterize fiber type, length, and relative exposure intensity. Appl Occup Environ Hyg 2003; 18: 506–512.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Exposure Factors Handbook: 2011 Edition. Washington, DC 2011 EPA/600/R-09/052F.
Marchand LS, St-Hilaire S, Putnam EA, Serve KM, Pfau JC . Mesothelial cell and anti-nuclear autoantibodies associated with pleural abnormalities in an asbestos exposed population of Libby Mt. Toxicol Lett 2012; 208: 168–173.
Borton EK, Lemasters GK, Hilbert TJ, Lockey JE, Dunning KK, Rice CH . Exposure estimates for workers in a facility expanding Libby Vermiculite: updated values and comparison with original 1980 values. J Occup Environ Med 2012; 54: 1350–1358.
Rohs AM, Lockey JE, Dunning KK, Shukla R, Fan H, Hilbert T et al. Low-level fiber-induced radiographic changes caused by Libby vermiculite: a 25-year follow-up study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2008; 177: 630–637.
Goswami E, Craven V, Dahlstrom DL, Alexander D, Mowat F . Domestic asbestos exposure: a review of epidemiologic and exposure data. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2013; 10: 5629–5670.
Cline RJ, Orom H, Berry-Bobovski L, Hernandez T, Black CB, Schwartz AG et al. Community-level social support responses in a slow-motion technological disaster: the case of Libby, Montana. Am J Community Psychol 2010; 46: 1–18.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by ATSDR/CDC Grant No. TS000099-01. We thank Ted Larson, ATSDR, for his helpful comments on an early review of this manuscript. We also thank Dave Berry, EPA, for providing historical context and insight on the EPA sampling database.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology website
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Noonan, C., Conway, K., Landguth, E. et al. Multiple pathway asbestos exposure assessment for a Superfund community. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 25, 18–25 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2014.25
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2014.25
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Asbestos treatment technologies
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019)