Document gb90pzoxLpaXr1VVxjbNvwZNa

ST00952I 0 VoL 4a No. 8 Abstracts Nos. 2467-2777 August 1974 Abstracts on 'fo Yh^l Hygiene Incorporating the Bulletin of Hygiene Selective and critical abstracts and reviews of world literature on all aspects of public health including Community medicine Environmental hygiene Occupational hygiene Food and food poisoning Non-communicable diseases Communicable diseases iycoeeSi^i^fev: Microbiology Immunity BUREAU OF HYGIENE AND TROPICAL DI8EA8E8 ksspsl sracir London was 7ht muitioni. oi-sss ssm ST00952I I .1 i974 -*p.>ied it coatCCart1 tUa ' select cm arc Studied and 12 I trulywhich d " by d in a was a >ups of d with d with ngs to e then ie pro found ehagc% bercle isktersis aly had facrore no These :hui*Con/.. icntal t the tuberpends cially })} vhich nge * tor v. 35, termJhalt, *stos :d in ; hf jvery lelert are nine tram VoL 49. No. 8 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES 659 of asbestos) are as follows: Be 2-14 mkrograms verts it to porphyrin. The authors suggest that a I per gram of asbestos, Cd 3-10, Cr 202-771, Co 36- watch for akin lesions in lead poisoning might give | 78, Cu 9-26, Mn 323-1063. Ni 299-1187, T1 35-71." an opportunity for further study. From the findings in one or other or all 3 patients /*494) WaoMs, 1. C, Baser, O.. Skumou. /. W. 4k ^TIMISIUI, V. The tfadi of the hblsllss of utw^tja rat*. Be. /. Cancer, 1974, v. 29, No. 3, data are tabulated with normal value* for compari son. A figure giving stages in haem biosynthesis shows where and bow Pb affects it. The case-his tories tie described by the authors, who are from In this peper the authors describe experiments involving more than 700 rats to which asbestos was administered by inhalation for periods varying from 1 day to 24 months The U1CC reference samples of amosite, anthophyllite, crocidolite. Canadian chrysotUe and Rhodesian chrysolite ware used. Lung tumours ranging in severity from adenomas to squamous carcinomas were produced by all types of dust Tbs total numbers of tumours in each group (number of animals in parenthesis) were: control group, 7 (126), all adenomat; amosite, 38 (146); anthophyllite, 30 (143); crocidolite, 33 (141); Canadian chrysolite, 43 (137); Rhodesian chrysolite, 39 (144). Of the 20 tumours that metastasized, 16 occurred after exposure to chrysotile. The numbers of mesotheliomas observed were: control group, 0; smoaite, t; anthophyllite, 2; croci dolite, 4; Canadian chrysolite, 4; Rhodesian chryso tile, 0. The mesothelioma produced by amosite and one of the 4 produced by crocidolite occurred in animals that inhaled the asbestos dust for only one day. A total of 412 tumours were observed at sites other than the lung but the difference between the university departments in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Action spectrum studies were carried out at Dun- dea University. The unilocular blisters, OS-3 cm, on hands or legs for 3 or 6 months, were unlike those seen in common blistering disorders. No photosensitizing drugs had been used. Porphyria cutanea tarda was excluded by low or absent urinary uroporphyrins. The monochromator tset showed porphyria-like photosensitivity in patient A and in the others there was urinary or Mister-fluid fluorescence. AU patients had increased erythrocyte protoporphyrin, which in patient B had been attributed to iron deficiency anaemia until this was corrected. Their Mood Pb levels were 30, 47 and 41 fig/100 ml. Patient A had diabetes and some abnormal hepatic enzymes but histology and bilirubin were normal; his faecal protoporphyrin and urinary ALA coproporphyrin and Pb were increased (porphobilinogen normal) and ALA-D activity was decreased. The others had increased urinary ALA. Domestic water with Pb contents of 82, 3126 and 240 /ig/litre was the source of poisoning. The family of patient B was also affected. - M. Patricia Fitzumoni dusted and the control rats was not significant. F. F. Holt 2496 Wada. O.. Nakajima. T. A Tovokawa, K. Stability of t-aaelnotevallate acid (ALA) dchy- i*9S KiRJTfcirna^.^ Df j?f : into (ALA-D) la blood Msaptec aad of. db- A Moons, M. R. Lead poisoning ,tf blistering " aolvod ALA a Msbetrate for SMay of ALA-D.'' of the shin. Scott. Med. J.. 1974, v. 19, No. 1, 3-6. lad. Hltk Kawasaki, 1973, v. 11, Nos. 1/2, 73-6. In 3 patients who presented with blistering of exposed areas of the skin, investigations eventually showed biochemical evidence of lead poisoning. Skin lesions have not been reported among the many manifestations of lead poisoning but there were features in these vases which suggested that photosensitivity, resulting from disturbances in por phyrin metabolism, may occur in slight poisoning. In severe poisoning, with high blood Pb levels and more marked inhibition of erythrocyte 5-aminolaevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA-D), when excess ALA results, photosensitivity is unlikely. It has happened when ALA was administered to normal healthy people because ALA-D activity rapidly con- Since the (reduced) activity of erythrocyte 8aminolaevulinic add dehydratase (ALA-D) is the most sensitive and specific indicator of lead absorp tion, the authors at Tokyo University tested con ditions for their assay method in blood samples from 3 normal persons to establish a stable method for field surveys The results of 3 main experiments are presented as mean percentages of an assumed stan dard value for ALA-D. This value is given as 100 18 when the assay was carried out practically immediately with a freshly prepared ALA substrate solution in a 20 mM ALA concentration which had a pH of 3. (01 ml of 03 M phosphate buffer, pH 7, b added in 04 ml of the final reaction mixture.) gMiiiiiK) i -- a. um-mm*. Induntrinl Hygiene Digest October 1878 occupations of the 12 deceased persons, obtained from the death certificate*, were divided into three cate gories according to poeaible asbestos exposure. Exposure waa present or probable in 9 (11.0%) cases, 28 (34.It) had a poeaible exposure, and in 33 (40.2%) caaee exposure waa absent or unlikely. The occupa tion of 12 (14.0%) persona was unknown. Additional information of possible exposure history was obtained by interviewing the relatives of 10 mesothelioma patients. For half of the persona a defir.its, although in soma caaee trivial, exposure to aebeetoe could be ascertained. For the other five persons no exposure, either occ< national, neighborhood or domestic, to asbestos could be traced. The residential distribution of the IS persons with mejothelioma revealed no clustering of cases. --Author's abat. 1293/75 I The Haiarda of Asbestos tor Brake Mechanics . B. Castleman, et al. Public Health Keports 90: 254-256, I May/June 1175. 21 refs. In view of the tendency of the accumulating literature to reveal cancer induction from asbestos at progres sively lower levels of exposure, mechanics should be advised not to blow out brake parts ancTto use instead methods which areate lees airborne duet. The manufacturers of automotive friction materials could easily attach a clear hasard warning to every item sold. The limited success of both the Baltimore and Washing ton studies shows the limited efficacy of voluntary compliance with health warnings--the shop managers and the mechanics simply do not have the same regard for a warning that they have for a regulation. The margin of salary, if any, provided by the current asbestos standards has been sharply criticized as insuf ficient. While it is adviseble that brake mechanics at least be warned of the potential hazard of their work. it is also apparent that blowing out brakes will be a common practice so long as health regulations permit it. --Cond. from text 1294/7! Poet Mortem Ascertained Cases of Lung and Pleural Tumors Due to Asbestos . F. Mirabclla. Med. Lavoro 88: 192-211. May/June 1975. 145 refs. (Italian) ------------- In a revision of autopay esses with asbestosls csrried out and published between 1900 and 1974. upon 2044 subjects (of both sexes), 593 malignant intrathoracic neoplasms have been found, comprising bronchogenic carcinomata and pleural mesotheliomata (or 21.5%). Chronologically in the period 1930-1955 the percentage of such neoplasm was 19.7% of all autopsies: in tbs period 1955-1974 they rose to 35.3%, reaching in some post-mortem departments an average of over 40%. In the total of malignant growths of the aabestotice. the intrathoracical location would often constitute 60-70% and above. The Anglo-Saxon ethnic group (but not exclusively/ wuulo seem to be more affected than the Neo-Latin branch. Aabastosis and Mesothelioma: The mesothelioma of the pleura is an uncommon neoplasm in the autopsies of the general population; in the post mortem departments of industrial and especially of maritime cities with dockyards involved in naval con struction and demolition, notwithstanding a chronological increase of incidence, there have not been such frequent reports of mesothelioma over 0.77% of autopsy cases (Koenig, at St. George's Hoapital Hamburg); but generally the average would be about 0.20% (on 346 , 720 records of the pathological institutes in general hospitals, documented in the medical bibliography, the disoovered mesotheliomata were 685). In the post mortems of asbestosls sufferers, the incidence of the mesothelioma seems, of the contrary, to be 20-30 times over. Pertinent tables are included. --Author's Summary in English 1295/75 Asbestos Emissions From Baghouee Controlled Sources. C.F. Harwood. et al. Amer. Ind. Hyg. Asan. J. jo. 595-603, August 1975. 8 refs. There is virtually no information published on the absolute efficiency of baghouees in reducing the emis sions of fine particles of asbestos. This lack of information is unfortunate because serious occupsticnal health problems may result from the common practice of recirculating air to conserve energy. Emission testing has been conducted at five asbestos processing plants where the emission are controlled by baghouses. The results showed that the mass removal efficiency frequently exceeded 99.00%. Membrane filter samples of the effluent were examined by optical and electron microscope. It was observed that despite the high mass efficiency, the number of fibers emitted, which were greater than 1.5 pu in length, was about 10*-10* fibers/n>3, while the number of fibers less than 1.5 pm was 107-iqO Hbers/mJ. The significance of the size of the fibers in terms of probable health impact is briefly discussed. --Author's abet.