Document MM5Ej1aOpMJE6xQQDo4B9GvYM

FILE NAME: ALCOA (ALC) DATE: 1956 Sept DOC#: ALC039 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Abstracts of Journal Articles - Industrial Hygiene Digest i 'OC' rrfl Industrial Hygiene Digest INDUSTRIAL HEALTH NEWS LITERATURE ABSTRACTS MEDICAL ENGINEERING CHEMICAL TOXICOLOGICAL LEGAL decisions sad bands SE(PVToELM2B0,ENR,o.199)S6 INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE FOUNDATION MELLON INSTITUTE 4400 FIFTH AVENUE PITTSBURGH 13. PA. 03120237 HUdii-onifi /us rm fostrtel H ygiene Pfgent S ep te m b e r, 1956 1188 A Study of Respiration in Pulm onary A sb estosis. H. B astcoier, H. Denolin, A. do C oster, and M. Englent. Arch. m aladies p rofess. 16, 5-46-553 (1955). French. la order to test the respiratory value of longs affected with asbestosis nine ca ses w ere c lo se ly studied. The seven m ea and two women had been exposed to asbestos dust, 1,0 0 0 to 2, 000 p articles per cu. m ., for 13 to 30 years. The patients displayed definite sym ptom s of asb estosis w ith troublesom e cough and dyspnea, and all Showed x-ray shadows like ground glass extending over both lungs. No tubercle bacilli were found in any case. A definite reduction was found in vital capacity, but the maxim um expiratory volume was sa tis factory. Breathing, however, w as accelerated by hyperventilation. At rest breathing was sufficient and satisfactory, but on exertion dyspnea appeared, varying considerably accord ing to the pathological lesion s in the longs. T hese functional changes w ere in no way d iffer ent from those seen in other cases of pneum oconiosis. Varying emphysema was found, but no special strain was thrown upon the heart. -- Cond. from Bull Hyg. 1189 A sbestosis: Report of a C ase. E . R. W iese and W. E. B. Hall. D iseases of Chest 3, 29, 30 (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 dem arcated development of fibrosis; and degenera tion of collagen in extensive irregular fields. These and other conditions are described fully. Fine needles representing the original asbestos fibers were seen. Small asbestos bodies w ere seen in a few areas of focal fib rosis, although they had not appeared in the sputum. 1190 New Viewpoints on Pulm onary Cancer in A sbestos W orkers. H. Bohlig and G. Jacob. Deut. med. Wochschr. 81, 231-233 (Feb. 17, 1956). German. The following distinguishing features have been attributed to the lung cancer that has been recognized as an occupational disease of asbestos workers: (1) increased inci dence; (2) developm ent at an early age; (3) dependence on duration of exposure to asbestos dust; (4) a latent period between onset of exposure and the appearance of the cancer; (5)- the localization; (6) the histological structure; and (7) the m ulticeutral origin. The authors d iscu ss each of these points, and show that there is little clear evidence to support any of these assum ptions, with exceptions noted. Women w orkers in the asbestos industry have lung cancer m ore often, and at an earlier age than do other women, but the same is not true of m en. M alignant growths of the pleura seem to occur m ore often in asbestos w orkers than in other persons. The m ulticentral developm ent is observed also in workers exposed to cobalt and to chrom ates. The study of the pathogenesis is still in the state of hypotheses, and the theory of m echanical pathogenesis is given m ost consideration. M icro traumas and asb estos bodies are alw ays found in the pulmonary cancers of asbestos w orkers, but the authors feel that this does not n ecessarily prove the m echanical theory. They cite several factors that speak against a purely m echanical pathogenesis of asbestos cancer, but they concede that the developm ent of so-called asbestos w arts proves the irritating effect of asbestos on human tissu es. - - Cond. from J. Am. Med. A ssn. C C 1191 N asal Penetration of P articles of Sm all Inertia in Experim ental Anim als. Gabrielle A sset, fTELSTj L-. E. G ougw er, and S tella Ryan. A rch, lad . H ealth 13, 597-601 (June 1956). Experim ents w ere carried out to determ ine the nasal penetration of particles of sm all inertia in dead rabbits, dogs, and guinea pigs. The heads of the anim als, or the entire bodies, w ere exposed in a wind tunnel to an aerosol consisting of particles of 1 .3 m icron s w ith d en sity of 1 .2 g-. per. c c . and m oving at a ra te of 2 .5 m ph. The con cen tra tions of the aerosol entering the nasal passages and of that leaving the nasal passages w ere determ ined. It was found that there was a significant difference in nasal penetration b e tween the guinea pigs, on the one hand, and the rabbits and the dogs, on the other hand. Wind direction had no influence on the nasal penetration of droplets of low inertia. . -- Authors' summary 03120277 . \