Document 8R3yGXeLLk0RxmJ3wwYa0rXQe

- 74 - and in the building industry, SOI in manual workers, 47% in "white collar" workers and 39% in females. Recently Donlach ct al (197$) established similar findings in London, e.g. 61% in workers from the shippping Industry, 47..?% in clerical workers, ?6% in housewives* there were more positive cases in residen tial areas of dockland than in (semi-)urban residential areas, which exceeded again the prevalence in a more rural area. Oldham (1973) reported on the frequency of asbestos bodies in consecutive autopsies in different areas and on the observer variation in viewing these slides, he founds Finland 36% positive) Glasgow and London hospitals (covering areas which Include docks and asbestos factories) 22-26% positive; Dresden, bclfast, London RPGS and Liverpool (covering industrial areas which include docks or manufacturers of asbestos products) 13-17% positive; Dorchester and Nottingham (industrial towns without an asbestos industry) C-9%; and Galway (entirely rural) )%. He also estimated that in the London area the proportion of of people in when* asbestos bodies can be found in the lungs post mortem oppears to be rising by about 1% por year in perrons over the age of 30. An in crease of the percentage of asbestos bodies can be a real increase or be cau sed by improved techniques, more attention or o more prolonged search of speci mens. Due to the techniques used, the figures given certainly underreport the true prevalence. Trem this short review of the literature one may conclude that the pre sence of asbestos bodies probably pi^vides a useful indicator of exposure to asbestos, !*>th from the occupational as well as from cr.vironmcntal sources. As the nurber of fibres is nearly always higher than the number of asbestos bouit-s end many fibres cen be found without .lubostos bodies IPooley 3973), the prevalence of asbcr.tos exposure certainly is higher then the number of cases with asbestos bodies. One should realise that the rubier of asbestos fibres or bodies present is the result of *31 exposures (old ar.d joccr.t) and climjnation (by breakdown, coughing up etc. etc.). Moreover the results of the different methods described in the literature hardly ever ore comparable. ' t I Pathologicol processes Pathological processes in man, due to asbestos,' ..:\/ht . Iso serve as in dicators of asbestos exposure. The different possibilities to be considered arc: h c. POOl 0767 PRODUCED BY FORD