Asbestos Bioeffects Research for Industry

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos Bioeffects Research for Industry (1966).

The study

• Published: Industrial Hygiene Foundation of America, Inc., 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Medical Series, Bulletin No. 11 (1966)
• Type of article: Report
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This 1966 Industrial Hygiene Foundation of America bulletin was not a research study. It printed minutes of a July 19, 1966 meeting session on asbestos. The 16 listed attendees came from companies, the U.S. Public Health Service, the University of Pittsburgh, the Mellon Institute, St. Luke's Hospital and the Foundation. The foreword said some articles had presented "highly exaggerated views" of the asbestos problem. Dr. Wright said data on one asbestos type cannot be translated to another. Dr. Smith said the main need was better definition of asbestos exposure. Dr. Cralley described a Public Health Service prospective study of asbestos textile, friction, cement and insulation workers, aiming for at least 2500 workers per category. Dr. Gross said there was reasonable doubt that "asbestos bodies" specifically indicate inhaled asbestos. Dr. Gross outlined planned experiments placing chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, filamentous glass and other materials in hamster and rat lungs. Their aim was to test whether asbestos's effects come from the silicate, trace metals or hydrocarbons. These experiments had not yet been done. Dr. Gross also reported a recent, not yet published Foundation finding of lung cancers in rats exposed for 13 months to high concentrations of chrysotile dust.

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.

What the study did and found

• Design: Minutes of an industry meeting session on asbestos research needs, including descriptions of planned studies; mentions one unpublished laboratory finding but presents no full data
• Who was studied: 16 listed attendees of an Industrial Hygiene Foundation Management Planning Meeting session at the Webster Hall Hotel on July 19, 1966. They came from companies (including Johns-Manville and Owens-Corning Fiberglas), the U.S. Public Health Service, the University of Pittsburgh, the Mellon Institute, St. Luke's Hospital and the Foundation.
• Exposure: Asbestos in general. The proposed animal work covered chrysotile (milled and synthetic), amosite and crocidolite, plus filamentous glass with and without binders and other fibrous materials. The planned Public Health Service worker study covered asbestos textiles, friction products, cement products and insulating materials.
• Main results:
  • The foreword stated that some articles in the professional literature and the lay press presented exaggerated views of the potential asbestos problem
  • Dr. Wright stated that data on one type of asbestos cannot be translated to another type
  • Dr. Smith stated that the primary need was better definition of asbestos exposure
  • Dr. Cralley described a U.S. Public Health Service prospective study under way in four industry exposure categories, aiming to cover at least 2500 workers in each category
  • Dr. Gross stated that there was reasonable doubt that "asbestos bodies" are specific indicators of inhaling asbestos fibers
  • Dr. Gross proposed animal experiments (hamsters held six months; rats held two years) to test whether asbestos's biological activity lies in the silicate itself, in trace metals or in hydrocarbons
  • In a recent Industrial Hygiene Foundation laboratory investigation, cited as to be published, lung cancers were found in rats exposed for 13 months to high concentrations of chrysotile dust

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Industrial Hygiene, Asbestos Exposure, Insulator, Asbestos Bodies, Chrysotile, Amosite, Crocidolite, Silicate.

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