Identification and control of asbestos exposures (1971)

This article by L.J. Cralley, of the Bureau of Occupational Safety and Health in the U.S. Public Health Service, was a review and commentary on how to identify, measure and control asbestos exposure at work. It did not report new measurements, cases or disease rates. The author described laboratory methods for identifying individual fibers, such as electron microscopy and diffraction. The author noted that these methods were time-consuming and costly, and that one technique alone was seldom definitive. The author wrote that research in the United Kingdom and the United States had shown airborne fiber levels to be a better measure of exposure than overall dust. The article supported collecting samples on membrane filters and counting fibers with phase contrast microscopy. It said special precautions were needed where asbestos was handled in loose form, such as mining, milling and shipping. It listed controls including exhaust ventilation, enclosure, wet methods, housekeeping, worker education, respirators, work clothing, air monitoring and periodic medical examinations. The author concluded that asbestos can be used safely if adequate precautions prevent excessive and unsuspected exposures.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

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. 002439.