Literature Review
Municipal pleural cancer mortality in Spain by G Lopez-Abente, V Hernandez-Barrera, M Pollan, N. Aragones, B Perez-Gomez. Occup Environ Med 2005;62:195-199. Recent advances in the discipline of spatial epidemiology sparked the research for this paper which revealed “a higher risk of death due to pleural cancer in well defined towns and areas, many of which correspond to municipalities that were once the site of industries where asbestos was used for many years.” Based on the results of this mortality analysis, the researchers discount the role of Simian virus 40 in mesothelioma and highlight the usefulness of environmental surveillance in early diagnosis of mesothelioma.
Cancer mortality in a cohort of asbestos textile workers by E Pira, C Pelucchi, L Buffoni, A Palmas, M Tubiglio, E Negri, PG Piolatto and C La Vecchia. British Journal of Cancer (2005) 92, 580-586. A follow-up of a cohort of nearly two thousand workers from an asbestos textile factory in Grugliasco, Italy found:
elevated levels of pleural, peritoneal and lung cancers;
a correlation between duration of employment and lung and peritoneal cancer;
a correlation with time since first employment and lung cancer and mesothelioma;
pleural cancer risk was independent of duration of employment: “six out of the 23 individuals deceased for (sic) pleural cancer had an employment period lower than 1 year, and three of those worked for less than 4 months at the company.”
an increased incidence of ovarian, laryngeal, oral and pharyngeal cancers: “Overall, observed deaths were 60% more than expected, due to excess mortality from cancers but also from other respiratory tract diseases. The large number of deaths from asbestosis testify (to) the magnitude of exposures.”
Airborne Asbestos Levels in School Buildings in Italy by A Campopiano, S Casciardi, F Fioravanti and D Ramires. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene,1:256-261. April 2004. Sampling of airborne asbestos undertaken by the National Institute of Occupational Prevention and Safety in Italy between 1992-2002 at 59 schools in several Italian regions found asbestos in vinyl floor coverings and asbestos-cement roofs, facades and heating ducts:
“Most of the results provided no significant evidence of airborne asbestos fibers, alsough some dispersion was found in a few school buildings where, during the past years, monitoring and safety programs had not been implemented.”
February 28, 2005
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