Document 44MREZLrgm9x5aa0dz9ZKJxe

*-*r - *-- Stacks-After Current Table iffiflVEO r * e i U- A *. *> w OiVISJON Of ^LTH AFFAIRS library ndustrial INDUSTRIAL HEALTH NEWS LITERATURE ABSTRACTS? MEDICAL ENGINEERING CHEMICAL TOXICOLOGICAL LEGAL y^-r.Ussae* JANUARY, 1969 (Vol. 33, No. 1) ______ _ - 'i INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE FOUNDATION 5231 CENTRE AVENUE PITTSBURGH. PA. 15232 .v * - ' '** -WI :. ,, 1 ^.4 ,, T;-,z * ntT-570 f * :h / inCy ion ght , :ai ^gtene Dijest -duiind---- January. I'63 .-.l-ii: A?, Eoidem.iotovical. Envlr'nme r.tal. and C-inicii 5urv"y. h~^T r (r.d. .Med. 25. 2o"-232 (Qct. . i e r i. C. E. D. Hearn. ^ tfjidemioloaical and environmental survey of 17 1 basasse wor.-:ers emsioyed by a raw s>u_ln reducing company in Trinidad was carried out ir. order :o assess the orevalance oi respir:-.: r- .......ptoir.s ar.d to determine if exposure to hasasse was ass -elated with alterations in ventilator/ ca34C;ty. The epidemiological surgey tailed to reveal a significantly increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms in the more exposed group hut showed that the group of Indian workers who were regularly and continuously exposed to bagasse had a significantly lower ventilatory cap&city than the control group. This diminished ventilatory capacity was demonstrated despite negligible dust concentrations in the plant. However, the possibility that persistent exposure to low concentrations of bagasse may be the cause must be considered. During a five-year period. 17 oatients with bagassosis were seen, the clinical picture being similar to that described in extrinsic allergic alveolitis from other causes. The systematic variations demonstrated ir. some indices of ventilatory function in different racial groups are discussed. --Author's abst. immunological Aspects of Bagassosis. C. E. D. Hearn and V. Holford-Strevens. Sfrit. J- Ind. Med. 2ju 283-292 (Oct.. 1963). Immunological investigations of 37 patients with bagassosis, 92 unaffected bagasse workers, ar.d 150 non-exposed controls showed that orecipitins against extracts of bagasse could be demon strated just as frequently in the unaffected and the non-exposed as in the affected. However, there was a general tendency for the precipitin levels of patients with bagassosis to fall slightly with increasing time after recovery from the clinical episode. The presence of the precipirins so far demonstrated in the sera of bagasse workers therefore appears to be of no clinical sig nificance. Inhalation tests with an extract of bagasse, in a group of 16 patients who had had bagassosis, produced late, systemic reactions in 15 similar to those described in farmer's lung and bird fancier's lung, so supporting the hypothesis that a similar type of hypersensitivity is the cause of bagassosis. Inhalation of extracts of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris also produced typical, late reactions in 12 out of 15 subjects, whereas extracts of Micropolyspora faeni failed to produce reactions in any of 16 subjects. The specific reactions to inhalation tests with Thermoactinomyces vulgaris were typical of a precipitin-mediated type of hypersensitivity reaction and support the view that this actinomycete may be important in the aetiology of bagassosis. --Authors' abst. 73 Pleural Fibrocalcixic Plaques and Asbestos Exposure. L. O. Meurman. Environ. Research 2. 30-46 (Sept., l368). In a number of serial investigations an association has been demonstrated between the devel- opment of benign calcific pleural plaques or malignant diffuse mesothelioma and slight inhala- tion of asbestos dust, often some 20 or 30 years previously. As the industrial use of asbestos has increased enormously during the last few decades, a rise in the frequency of mesothelioma -- which has hitherto been rare -- is anticipated in the near future (Thomson, 1962). From the standpoint of epidemiological research concerning asbestos exposure, the demonstration of calcific plaques on roentgenograms has proved a useful criterion. So far. only an association has been disclosed, however, not an obvious causal relationship. Other pathogenetic factors, still unknown, have to be taken into account either as a contributory or the sole cause. The occurrence of bilateral calcific plaques does not yet imply the presence of asbestosis-pr.eumo- coniosis. In the majority of subjects who have r.ot been occupationally exposed to asbestos, pleural calcification is not combined with pulmonary changes or signs of pneumoconiosis. There are 43 references. --Author s abst. Mortality From Lur.z Cancer and Other Causes Among Workers ir. an Asbestos Textile Factory J. F. Knox, et al. Brit. J. Ir.d. Med. 293-303 (Oct., 1963). An account is given of work in an asbescos textile factory and of the steps taken to reduce exposure to dust since the introduction the Asbestos Industry Regulations in l33l. Measure ments of the amount dust to -vhi-th v..-r. vere exposed in the seneduied areas have been me. by various me mods .---.nee 1 -51. t: " .-.e -.a:a m.tair.ed by these -v.ethods are not directly c:~ 1 industrial able. Measurements made s: r.c c . " `..''.a: :r.--, mean voar.y .we. Dc'1.". tair.y constant from year to year ar.d has varied ;'rr:r. place tc dace bcf-veor. i ar.d c particles (5 to 100 microns ione and at leas: tr.ree times as long as thc-y v.'cr- -vice'' per c.r. o: air. Chryso lite was used predominantlv ir. the factory, but small amounts of crncide-iiti " ere also pro cessed at all relevant periods. Death rates have been recorded dr ail the 23c rr.or. who were empLoyed for at least 20 years ir. the scheduled areas since the first rr.ar. crr.'.pieted 20 years: exposure in 1916, and lor tne 53S mer. and 220 women who were employed for at ieast 10 years in the scheduled areas but were never employed in these areas betcre l'`id The results show a substantially increased mortality for mer. who were exposed for 10 or more years before l^i: (48 deaths from all causes acair.st IT- 1 expected). The increased m.orta.ity among these men can be accounted for by ar. increased mortality from car.ccr of the :ur.g i.l deaths against 1- 2 expected) and from diseases of the respiratory and circulatory systems associated with asbes- tosis. Men employed before 1933, but for Less than 10 years, showed an increased mortality from lung cancer (5 deaths acair.st 2-6 expected), but no significant increase from other causes. Men and women who were exposed or.lv since January 1. i 33, have had a mortality experience close to the national average. Analysis of the trends ir. mortality shows (li a decrease ir. mortality from lung cancer and other deaths associated with asbestosis with reduction in length of employment before l53, and (21 an increase in mortality from lur.g cancer ana other deaths without asbestosis with age. Twenty-three cases of lung cancer occurred in men who had been employed in the scheduled areas for at least 20 years. One was regarded as a pleural mesothelioma and the rest (approximately 18 in excess of expected) appear to have been ordinary bronchial carcinomas. Four other mesotheliomas have been diagnosed since 1963, all in men and women with less than 10 years' exposure, one with only seven months' exposure, and one in a man who had been employed in the scheduled areas only since la37. The results provide grounds for believing that the occupational hazard of bronchial carcinoma has been largely eliminated, but the data are insufficient to estimate the extent of the risk which may remain. --Authors' abst. 80 Fibrous and Mineral Content of Cosmetic Talcum Products. L. I. Cralley. et a!. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assn. J. ^9, 350-334 (July-Aug. , 1968). With the exception of 4 of the 22 cosmetic talcum products analyzed, the levels of free silica, cobalt, nickel, chromium, and manganese were generally of a low magnitude and within a narrow range. It is not known whether the four products represent a significant proportion of sales in the industry or to what extent the sources of the talc ir. these four formulations are the same as sources of talc specified for use in other talcum products in the competitive market. The levels of silica, chromium, ana nickel in these four products are sufficiently high, however, to be of concern in their potential to cause disease. All of the 22 talcum products analyzed have an appreciable fiber content, ranging from 8 to SO17, by count of the total talcum particulates, and averaging ^"o. The fibrous material was predominantly talc but probably contained minor amounts of tremolite, anthophyllite. and chrysotile as these are often present in fibrous talc mineral deposits. Cosmetic talcum products should be included as a source of the fibers, from which may be derived ferruginous bodies observed in the lungs of humans. The meaning of the presence of these ferruginous bodies, however, is uncertain. Industry has the know-how to safely handle fibrous material as well as toxic metals such as nicket, chromium, cobalt, ar.d manganese once adequate criteria have beer, established. Unknown significant amounts of such materials in products that may be used without precautions may create ar. unsuspected problem- For this reason continued research and investigations and communication of findings are neces sary in this area. There are 24 references. --Authors' conclusions 81 Ferruginous Bodies ir. Human Uur.-s. prevalence ar Random Autopsies. V.. D. Utidiiar.. p. Cross, ar.d K. T. P. deT .c. Aren. z.r,viroru'..enta: Hra.tr. * u 2 - t c u loept. , Utt!- Reprints available from Industrial H ygiene Foundation, 3231 Centre Ave. , Pittsburgh, ??.. . 132.'- F e r r vulno us b-:d'-_ "it:. : ear;::.:-:.: central c;:t or r.c c-;r.t ru. ft an.,::.: '.vt.-, orese:" The youngest suolec crsi.v 7T.ore ci'j_T -- l.r o: m.alizr.ar.t disease relative a our.ciarice todies wc.s a 24-year-c-i vn r men. Thiriv-ivc iav.ems aooarer.c assreiatier v: r.vte . T'.;ere we:e r-vn ca?ri bn die it-= ha c: ere jen.orr.e *`r a : he