A Review of Job Assignments and Asbestos Workplace Exposure Measurements for TAWP Mesothelioma Deaths Through 2011

Asbestos workers have a higher risk of developing mesothelioma; however, few studies have looked at specific jobs and job locations within asbestos factories. The purpose of this study was to investigate asbestos exposure in different job locations of the Tyler, Texas asbestos plant to determine if there was a relationship between the duration of exposure and air fiber concentration burden in workers who developed pleural versus peritoneal mesothelioma.

This study used a patient information database to compile secondary data on 23 workers who died from mesothelioma through 2011. The airborne fiber exposure burdens for each of the 23 workers were estimated and then stratified by job location category and by type of mesothelioma for analysis.

Most of the worker cases were assigned to the forming area which had the overall highest fiber concentration of all the plant's job locations. Workers who developed pleural mesothelioma spent the most time in the packing and miscellaneous locations, whereas workers who developed peritoneal mesothelioma worked mostly in the forming and miscellaneous locations. There were significant differences in days worked and estimated airborne exposure fiber burden between the pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma cases in the forming and curing locations.

Results from this study reiterate the association between occupational asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, emphasizing the importance of concentration of respirable asbestos dust levels and duration of exposure.