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Size- and type-specific exposure assessment of an asbestos products factory in China

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 26, pages 63–69 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

This study describes fibre size and type-specific airborne asbestos exposures in an asbestos product factory. Forty-four membrane filter samples were analysed by scanning electron microscopy to determine the size distribution of asbestos fibres, by workshop. Fibre frequencies of bivariate (length by width) categories were calculated and differences between workshops were tested by analysis of variance. Data were recorded for 13 435 chrysotile and 1075 tremolite fibres. The proportions between size metrics traditionally measured and potentially biologically important size metrics were found to vary in this study from proportions reported in other cohort studies. One, common size distribution was generated for each asbestos type over the entire factory because statistically significant differences in frequency between workshops were not detected. This study provides new information on asbestos fibre size and type distributions in an asbestos factory. The extent to which biologically relevant fibre size indices were captured or overlooked between studies can potentially reconcile currently unexplained differences in asbestos-related disease (ARD) risk between cohorts. The fibre distributions presented here, when combined with similar data from other sites, will contribute to the development of quantitative models for predicting risk and our understanding of the effects of fibre characteristics in the development of ARD.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge contributions from Mr Yoshihito Konishi of F&A Technology Institute, Tokyo, Japan, and Mr Saikatsu and Mr Kojima of the Nisshin Kankyo Center, Tokyo, Japan. Funding to undertake this research was provided by The Global Scholarship Programme for Research Excellence — CNOOC Grants for 2010–2011, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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Author notes

  1. Midori N Courtice

    Present address: 5Current address: IOM Singapore, Singapore.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Midori N Courtice & Xiaorong Wang

  2. Aeolus, Albany, California, USA

    D Wayne Berman

  3. Division of Public Health, Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health, Tokyo, Japan

    Eiji Yano

  4. Graduate School of Economics, Toyo University, Tokyo, Japan

    Norihiko Kohyama

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  1. Midori N Courtice
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  4. Norihiko Kohyama
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  5. Xiaorong Wang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eiji Yano.

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Competing interests

D Wayne Berman conducts work for a variety of public and private clients with competing interests in asbestos. None of them was in any way involved in this work.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology website

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Courtice, M., Berman, D., Yano, E. et al. Size- and type-specific exposure assessment of an asbestos products factory in China. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 26, 63–69 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2015.46

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2015.46

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