Size- and type-specific exposure assessment of an asbestos products factory in China

This study describes fibre size and type-specific airborne asbestos exposures in an asbestos product factory. Forty-four membrane filter samples were analysed by scanning electron microscopy to determine the size distribution of asbestos fibres, by workshop. Fibre frequencies of bivariate (length by width) categories were calculated and differences between workshops were tested by analysis of variance. Data were recorded for 13,435 chrysotile and 1075 tremolite fibres. The proportions between size metrics traditionally measured and potentially biologically important size metrics were found to vary in this study from proportions reported in other cohort studies. One, common size distribution was generated for each asbestos type over the entire factory because statistically significant differences in frequency between workshops were not detected. This study provides new information on asbestos fibre size and type distributions in an asbestos factory. The extent to which biologically relevant fibre size indices were captured or overlooked between studies can potentially reconcile currently unexplained differences in asbestos-related disease (ARD) risk between cohorts. The fibre distributions presented here, when combined with similar data from other sites, will contribute to the development of quantitative models for predicting risk and our understanding of the effects of fibre characteristics in the development of ARD.