Estimates of Dose-Response for Respiratory Cancer Among Chrysotile Asbestos Textile Workers (1982)

This retrospective cohort mortality study examined white male workers at a U.S. asbestos textile plant that, the authors said, processed only an insignificant amount of non-chrysotile fiber. The 768 men were followed through December 31, 1975, and their cumulative fiber doses were estimated from historical dust samples and work records. Lung cancer deaths numbered 26 against 7.47 expected (SMR 348), and nonmalignant respiratory disease had an SMR of 263. Fifteen deaths were due to asbestosis or pulmonary fibrosis. Lung cancer mortality was significantly raised in every dose group, including the lowest (under 10,000 fiber/cc x days, SMR 223). The highest-dose results rested on only two deaths, which the authors called unstable. One death was a peritoneal mesothelioma. Smoking rates among 292 workers resembled those of U.S. white males, and the authors concluded that smoking alone could not explain the excess. They wrote that a plot of just three data points suggested a linear lung cancer dose-response with no threshold. They predicted elevated risks from 50 years at the 2.0 fibers/cc standard. That prediction assumed no dose-rate effect, although most workers averaged considerably above 2.0 fibers/cc.

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From J-M's medical library

This copy comes from the Johns-Manville medical library. J-M listed it in its medical library index as no. 000666.

We publish this piece for research and commentary: it shows what the medical literature in a leading asbestos company's own library said on the subject, and when. Our summary above is our own reading of it. The copyright stays with the publisher.