Document 4Jmv7VVwL114vEDDBjxGNGKRa

Industrial Hygiene Digest INDUSTRIAL HEALTH NEWS LITERATURE ABSTRACTS MEDICAL ENGZNEEBING \ CHEMICAL TOXICOLOGICAL T.TICTflT- . _ dadaioBa and txamia SEPTEMBER, 1956 (VoL 20, No. 9) ^ hygiene foundation Industrial Hryiene 01 great September. 1956 J1S8 A Study of Respiration ia Pulmonary Asbestosis. H. Bastenier, H. Deaolia, A, deCoster, and M. Engient. Arch. matadics proicss. 16, 546-553 (1955). french. ,In order to test the respiratory value of lungs affected with asbestosis nine cases were closely studied. The seven men sod two women had been exposed to asbestos dust. 1. 000 to 2 000 particles per cu. m., (or 18 to 30 years. The patients displayed deCioite symptoms of asbestosis with troublesome cough and dyspnea, and ail showed x.ray shadows like ground glass extending over both lungs. No tubercle bacilli were found ia any case. A definite reduction was found ia vital capacity, but the'maadmum expiratory volume was satis factory. Breathing, however, was accelerated by hyperventilation. At rest breathing was sufficient and satisfactory, but on exertion dyspnea appeared, varying considerably accord ing to the pathological lesions ia the lungs. These functional changes were ia no way differ ent from those seen ia other cases of pneumoconiosis. Varying emphysema was found, but no special strain was thrown upon the heart. - Cond. from Bull. Hyg. 1189 Asbestosis: Report of a Case. S. R, Wiese and W. E. B. HaUL Diseases of Chest 30, 229, 230 (Aug. 1956). __ The history and autopsy findings in a fatal case of asbestosis are reported. Conditions described include: absence of the middle lobe of the right lung; greatly en larged heart; wide spread, sharply demarcated development of fibrosis: and degenera tion of collagen in extensive irregular fields.. These and other conditions are described fully. Tine needles representing the original asbestos fibers were seen. Small asbestos bodies were seen ia a few areaa of focal fibrosis, although they bad not appeared ia tbo sputum. 1190 New Viewpoints on Pulmonary Cancer in Asbestos Workers. H. Boblig and G. Jacob. Pout, med. Wochschr. 81. 221-222 (Feb. 17, 19S6). German. The following distinguishing features have been attributed to the lung cancer that has been recognized aa an occupational disease of asbestos workers: (1} increased inci dence; (2) development at aa early age; (3) dependence on duration of exposure to asbestos dust; (4) a latsnt period between onset of exposure and the appearance of the cancer; (5) the localization; (6) the histological stimeture; and (7) the multiceatral origin. The authors discuss each of these points, and show that there is little clear evidence to support any of these assumptions, with exceptions noted. Women workers.in the asbestos industry have lung cancer more often, and at an earlier age than do other women, but tbe same is not true of men. Malignant growths of the pleura seem to occur more often in asbestos workers than in other persona. The multicentral development is observed also in workers exposed to cobalt and to chromates. The study of the pathogenesis is still in the state of hypotheses, and the theory of mechanical pathogenesis is given most consideration. Microtraumas and asbestos bodies are always found in tbe pulmonary cancers of asbestos workers, but the authors feel that this does not necessarily prove the mechanical theory. They cite several factors that speak against a purely mechanical pathogenesis of asbestos cancer, but they concede that the development of so-called asbestos warts proves the irritating effect of asbestos on human tissues. -- Cond. from J. Am. Med. Assn. 1191 N*s*l Penetration of Particles of Small Inertia in Experimental y Gabrielle Asset I-- , Gongwer, and Stella Ryan. Arch, lad. Health 13. 597-fcOl (j^Je 1956). Experiments were carried out to determine the nasal penetration of particles of small Inertia in dead rabbits, dogs, and guinea pigs. The heads of the animals, or the entire bodies, were exposed in a wind tunnel to an aerosol consisting of particles of 1.3 microns with density of 1.2 g*. per. ce. and moving at a rate of 2.5 mph. The concentrations of the aerosol entering the nasal passages and of that leaving the nasal passages were deterained. It was found that there waa a significant difference ia nasal penetration be tween tbe guinea pigs, on tbe one hand, and the rabbits and the dogs, on the other band. Wind direction bad no influence on the nasal penetration of droplets of low inertia. -- Authors' summary