Asbestos Exposure What It Means What To Do

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos Exposure What It Means What To Do.

The study

• Published: National Cancer Institute, U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare.
• Type of article: Government report
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library.

In plain English

This item is not a research study. It is a public information brochure from the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. A reproduced card that was mailed with Social Security checks comes with it, and the card is dated September 1978. The brochure explained what asbestos is and where it was used. It said exposure may increase the risk of asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and cancers of the esophagus, stomach, colon and rectum. Citing unnamed studies of workers heavily exposed in the past, it stated that lung cancer caused up to 25 percent of their deaths, compared with a lifetime lung cancer risk of 4 to 5 percent in the general population. In those studies some 7 percent died of asbestosis and 7 to 10 percent died of mesothelioma. Asbestos workers who smoked had been 30 to 90 times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonexposed nonsmokers. The brochure said disease may not appear for 30 or more years and that many exposed workers may suffer no apparent ill effects.

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: Government public information brochure (not a research study), with a reproduced card that was mailed to Social Security recipients
• Who was studied: No study population. Written for American workers exposed to asbestos dust and their families. It states that as many as 11 million American workers may have been exposed since the early 1940s, including some 4.5 million shipyard workers during World War II.
• Exposure: Asbestos dust in general, described as a family of minerals. No specific fiber types are named. Jobs mentioned include asbestos mining and manufacturing, shipbuilding, insulation, construction and auto repair. Products mentioned include pipe coverings, tiles, brake linings, clutch facings and asbestos cement. Household exposure from dust on workers' clothing is also discussed.
• Main results:
  • Citing unnamed studies, the brochure states that lung cancer caused up to 25 percent of all deaths in workers heavily exposed to asbestos in the past. The comparison figure is a lifetime lung cancer risk of 4 to 5 percent in the general population.
  • In the same cited studies of asbestos workers' death records:
• some 7 percent died of asbestosis;
• 7 to 10 percent died of mesothelioma;
• 4 percent died of gastrointestinal cancers, compared to 2 percent in the general population.
  • The brochure states that asbestos workers who were also cigarette smokers have been 30 to 90 times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonexposed nonsmokers.
  • It states that quitting smoking may reduce risk among asbestos-exposed workers, perhaps by as much as half.
  • It states that workers may not show signs of disease for 30 or more years.
  • It reports that studies of shipyard workers exposed for brief periods (as little as a month or two) indicated asbestos-related diseases in some of them.
  • It states there is some evidence that family members of heavily exposed workers face an increased risk of mesothelioma, probably from dust brought home on workers' shoes and clothing.
  • It states that asbestos bonded in finished products is not a health risk as long as the product is not damaged or disturbed in a way that frees fibers into the air.
• The authors' conclusion: The brochure stated that many exposed workers, perhaps most, may suffer no apparent ill effects, while others are likely to develop asbestos-related diseases. It advised exposed people to consult a doctor and not to smoke.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The brochure notes that its risk estimates come from studies of workers heavily exposed before workplace regulation in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It says current workers without previous exposure can be expected to face smaller risks.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma.

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