Asbestos In The Environment

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos In The Environment, by W.J. Nicholson, F.L. Pundsack (1973).

The study

• Authors: W.J. Nicholson, F.L. Pundsack
• Published: Biological Effects Of Asbestos (J.C. Wagner, Editor), Lyon: Iarc Scientific Publications, Volume 8, Pp. 126-130 (1973)
• Type of article: Conference paper
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library, J-M no. 004340. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This article, available here only in part, reported electron-microscope measurements of chrysotile asbestos in United States air and river water. Chrysotile, identified by its tubular structure, was the only asbestos mineral the authors measured. When sixteen samples were analysed twice, the average deviation from the mean was 43%, and the authors felt a single analysis was accurate within a factor of two. They analysed 187 air samples from 49 United States cities collected in 1969 and 1970. Near spray fireproofing sites in lower Manhattan, chrysotile levels were in some instances approximately 100 times background, and the authors stated that spray fireproofing can contribute significantly to asbestos air pollution. River water was sampled monthly on the Juniata and Connecticut Rivers from March 1971 to March 1972. The chrysotile fibres found were electron-microscope size, with no statistically significant seasonal variation. Station averages ranged from 13 to 59 micrograms per gallon, figures the authors said indicate only order of magnitude. They also noted that ashing and dispersal caused sample losses.

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: Environmental measurement study: electron-microscope analysis of chrysotile in air and river water samples, with a description of the method
• Who was studied: 187 air samples from 49 United States cities (National Air Pollution Control Administration network, 1969 and 1970); also New York City air samples, samples near spray fireproofing sites in lower Manhattan, and monthly water samples from the Juniata River (Pennsylvania) and Connecticut River, March 1971 to March 1972
• Exposure: Chrysotile asbestos in ambient air and river water; chrysotile was the only asbestos mineral measured
• Main results:
  • Among sixteen samples analysed in duplicate, the average percent deviation from the mean was 43%
  • Near spray fireproofing sites in lower Manhattan, chrysotile levels were in some instances approximately 100 times background
  • In river water, all chrysotile fibres found were electron-microscope size
  • There was no statistically significant seasonal variation in the amount of fibre found in the rivers
  • The highest average river-water chrysotile was 59 micrograms per gallon, at Middletown, CT (12 samples)
  • The lowest average river-water chrysotile was 13 micrograms per gallon, at Lebanon, NH (13 samples; printed as Lehanan)
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that spray fireproofing can contribute significantly to asbestos air pollution, and that a single analysis is accurate within a factor of two
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Material was lost during ashing and dispersal; checks with doped samples put the losses at 40 to 70%
  • Uneven spreading of material over the slide introduced an unknown error
  • River-water values indicate order of magnitude only, not exact values
  • The city air samples were collected while spray fireproofing of high-rise buildings was permitted, which could have produced unusually high levels

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Chrysotile.

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