Asbestosis In Textile Manufacturing

Our plain-English summary of Asbestosis In Textile Manufacturing, by W.J. Smither, H.C. Lewinsohn (1973).

The study

• Authors: W.J. Smither, H.C. Lewinsohn
• Published: Biological Effects Of Asbestos (J.C. Wagner, Editor), Lyon: Iarc Scientific Publications, Volume 8, Pp. 169-174 (1973)
• Type of article: Conference paper
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library, J-M no. 002410. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This article was an overview of asbestosis in asbestos textile manufacturing, mainly in the United Kingdom, where mainly chrysotile was used. The authors discussed dust levels in textile processes and examined 71 papers published since 1964. Of these, 35 mentioned textile workers and only 10 reported the workers' dust levels. They also gave data from a Rochdale asbestos textile factory employing just under 1000 people. There were eight new asbestosis cases there in 1970. Four had started work before 1933; the two who had started since 1948 both came from opening, carding and spinning. The article gave an average development time of 13.1 years, apparently for cases among workers who joined since 1948, though this was not stated plainly. In that factory, carding and spinning still gave the highest dust counts. A new chemical process, Fortex, gave much lower counts. The authors concluded that, where dust counts have been related to disease rates, asbestosis can be shown to decline with strict dust controls. They said the position on mesothelioma in the textile industry was not entirely clear.

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: review and discussion of published literature on asbestos textile manufacturing, with dust and asbestosis data from one Rochdale (UK) asbestos textile factory
• Who was studied: asbestos textile workers, mainly in the UK, including a Rochdale asbestos textile factory employing just under 1000 persons; plus 71 papers published 1964 to 1970
• Exposure: asbestos dust in textile processes (opening, carding, spinning, weaving), mainly chrysotile; the article states crocidolite is no longer used in UK asbestos textile manufacture
• Main results:
  • Of 71 papers reviewed, textile workers were mentioned in 35; the fibre type was specified in 20, the textile operation in 14, and only 10 reported the workers' dust levels
  • In the Rochdale asbestos textile factory there were eight new cases of asbestosis diagnosed in 1970
  • Of the eight Rochdale cases, four had started employment before 1933
  • Two of the eight Rochdale cases had started employment since 1948, and both were from the opening, carding and spinning processes
  • The article gives an average time for development of 13.1 years directly after describing the cases who started since 1948 and cites Table 4, which lists Rochdale cases among those who joined since 1948; it does not state explicitly which cases the average covers, and it cannot apply to all eight 1970 cases, four of whom started before 1933
  • In the Rochdale factory's yearly mean dust levels (1961, 1966, 1971), carding and spinning operations still gave the highest counts
  • Dust counts in the manufacture of Fortex (a wet chemical process for producing chrysotile yarn) were much lower than in conventional processes
  • The authors stated that the position on mesothelioma in the asbestos textile industry was not entirely clear, and that past crocidolite use in the UK may be contributing to current cases
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, where dust counts have been related to disease incidence, asbestosis can be shown to decline with strict dust controls. They also found the literature insufficient to assess dose-response and called for standardised recording of exposure.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Chrysotile, Carding, Dust Control, Mesothelioma.

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