Based upon available data, can we project an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos? Yes

Our plain-English summary of Based upon available data, can we project an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos? Yes, by Paul Kotin (1979).

The study

• Author: Paul Kotin
• Published: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, pp. 211- (1979)
• Type of article: Conference paper
• 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 was a short position statement, not a research study. Paul Kotin of Johns-Manville Corporation gave it as part of a panel debate published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (1979). It reported no new data. The author recounted that a standard of five fibers per cubic centimeter had been set at the start of the decade, to drop to two fibers per cubic centimeter on July 1, 1976. OSHA had since proposed lowering it to one half fiber per cubic centimeter, time weighted average. The author argued that the two-fiber standard had been aimed mainly at asbestosis, and that the relationship between excessive asbestos exposure and increased risk of bronchogenic carcinoma and mesothelioma was already known in 1971. The author also argued that the proposal's references did not show new information justifying the change. The author said no-effect levels for carcinogens exist and pointed to dose response and to reduced disease described in other meeting papers. The author concluded that an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos can be projected.

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: Opinion and position statement given as part of a panel discussion. No original study, methods or data.
• Who was studied: No study population. The author spoke from Johns-Manville Corporation, Denver, Colorado.
• Exposure: Occupational asbestos exposure standards in general (fiber types not specified): a standard of five fibers per cubic centimeter, reduced on July 1, 1976 to two fibers per cubic centimeter, and an OSHA proposal to go from two fibers per cubic centimeter (time weighted average) to one half fiber per cubic centimeter.
• Main results:
  • The author argued that the relationship between excessive asbestos exposure and increased risk of bronchogenic carcinoma and mesothelioma was already known in 1971.
  • The author argued that the references in the OSHA proposal did not provide new information as a basis for the proposed change.
  • The author stated a conviction that no-effect levels for carcinogens exist. No supporting evidence was presented in this text; the author said it would be given in OSHA testimony.
  • The author cited reductions in disease described in other papers at the meeting, attributed to lower concentration or shorter exposure time.
  • The author argued that treating asbestos as separate from other environmental exposures finds little support in data.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that an acceptable standard for industrial use of asbestos can be projected. The author held that acceptable risk is a valid concept and that a body of data suggests continued use without adverse effect.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Johns-Manville, Fibers per Cubic Centimeter (f/cc), OSHA, Asbestos Exposure, Bronchogenic Carcinoma, Mesothelioma.

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