This comprehensive sourcebook describes the chemical, physical, and mineralogical aspects of fibrous inorganic materials, both synthetic and naturally occurring. A general description of the fibrous state, the range of compounds that can adopt this form, and an overview of the characteristics unique to such materials form the backbone of the book . The authors also assess the application and use of asbestos and other fibrous materials in industry and evaluate their potential as health hazards. The information gathered here will be highly useful to medical investigators and legal professionals involved in environmental health.
Much of the more than 30 million tons of asbestos used in the United States since 1900 is still present as insulation in offices and schools, as vinyl-asbestos flooring in homes, and in other common products. This volume presents a comprehensive evaluation of the relation of these fibers to specific diseases and the extent of nonoccupational risks associated with them. It covers sources of asbestiform fibers, properties of the fibers, and carcinogenic and fibrogenic risks they pose.
Provides the most current information and research available for performing risk assessments on exposed individuals and populations, giving guidance to public health authorities, primary care physicians, and industrial managers Reviews current knowledge on human exposure to selected chemical agents and physical factors in the ambient environment Updates and revises the previous edition, in light of current scientific literature and its significance to public health concerns Includes new chapters on: airline cabin exposures, arsenic, endocrine disruptors, and nanoparticles
Evaluates the risks and human health impacts of asbestos and other fibrous minerals Despite continuous efforts to eliminate asbestos from commercial use, it remains a serious occupational and environmental hazard. Health Risk Assessment for Asbestos and Other Fibrous Minerals provides a rigorous discussion of risk assessment methodology for elongate mineral particles, covering basics, theory, models, and practical applications, enabling readers to participate in carrying out efficient and informed health risk assessments, to estimate potential adverse effects for exposed populations, and to determine the acceptability of risks at a given level of exposure. Coverage includes: Mineralogy, health effects, pathology, exposure assessment, modeling, and characterization of risks for asbestos and similar toxic materials Necessary integration of epidemiology, toxicology, industrial hygiene, and environmental health expertise when performing a health risk assessment Emerging and not-well-known hazards, e.g. erionite and other naturally occurring fibrous minerals Contributions by Garry Burdett, Bruce Case, Lucy Darnton, Daniel Hall, Arseniy Korchevskiy, Brooke Mossman, Cassidy Strode, Robert Strode, and Ann Wylie Case studies and examples of risk calculations Health Risk Assessment for Asbestos and Other Fibrous Minerals is a highly practical reference on the subject for occupational and public health professionals, industry and government regulators, industrial hygienists, and risk assessors, along with epidemiologists, biostatisticians, toxicologists, and other scientific professionals.
The part of this book covering pathogensis and modes of action begins with a chapter on the physicochemical properties of asbestos fibers and a chapter on the deposition and retention of fibers within the lung and their clearance. Some of the effects of asbestos can be reproduced in animal experiments, and the book includes a full review of the results from animal studies using various routes of administration of fibers. It is also generally accepted that the effects of fibers on pulmonary macrophages is central to all fiber-induced pathology, and the release of macrophage-associated inflammatory and immunological mediatros is dealt with in a further chapter. Examination of pathogenicity by cell culture is described, and areas covered include the role of free radicals and cellular mechanisms in producing genetic damage. The fiber-induced activation of some second messenger pathways is also described, with consideration of whether or not similar cellular mechanisms are responsible for all the clinical conditions associated with fiber exposure. Knowledge of the mechanisms involved should be valuable in the development of safe fibers and the prevention of human exposure to new materials that are dangerous as asbestos. The final chapters expound and resolve the conflicts in evidence, discuss the importance of fibers for human well-being and the possible health impact on nonmineral alternatives, and evaluate risks to the public
Asbestos and Disease provides a much-needed comprehensive compendium and presentation of accumulated information on asbestos and disease. Organized into five parts, this book begins with the nature, occurrence, properties, mining, milling, manufacturing, and use of asbestos minerals. Some chapters follow on the identification, quantification, and environmental distribution of asbestos fibers. This book also tackles the asbestotic and neoplastic effects of asbestos. The pathogenic mechanisms, prevention, and control of asbestos are also addressed. This work will provide nonspecialists with easily comprehensible and meaningful data that will assist them in their endeavors in this field.
