Metintas en collega’s onderzochten de effecten van blootstelling aan asbest dat in een aantal Turkse dorpen in het milieu voorkomt. Deze vorm van blootstelling duurt normaal gesproken langer maar is van een lagere intensiteit dan beroepsmatige blootstelling aan asbest. Toch zijn de effecten hiervan op niet kwaadaardige longaandoeningen als verdikking of verbindweefseling van het longvlies (pleurale plaques en diffuse pleuraverbreding) even sterk als bij beroepsmatige blootstelling. Bepaalde soorten asbestvezels als actinoliet en tremoliet zijn daarbij schadelijker dan antrophyliet en chrysotiel. Tremoliet is vaak als vervuiler gevonden in chrysotiel en talkpoeder. Bron: Metintas, M. et al. (2005). Nonmalignant pleural lesions due to environmental exposure to asbestos: a field-based, cross-sectional study. European Respiratory Journal 26, 5, 875-879.
M. Metintas, S. Metintas, G. Hillerdal, I. Ucgun, S. Erginel, F. Alatas and H. Yildirim (2005). Nonmalignant pleural lesions due to environmental exposure to asbestos: a field-based, cross-sectional study. European Respiratory Journal 26, 5, 875-879.
ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequencies of asbestos-related benign pleural diseases in villagers environmentally exposed to asbestos and the factors affecting these frequencies.
A field-based, cross-sectional study was designed. In total, 991 villagers from 10 villages,
randomly chosen from 67 villages with known use of asbestos-containing white soil in central Anatolia (Turkey), were investigated. The type of asbestos in the white soil was determined for each village, as well as air-borne fibre concentrations. The villagers were investigated with smallsize chest roentgenograms and epidemiological features were recorded. The air-borne fibre levels were generally low. Despite this, pleural plaques were found in 14.4% of the villagers, 10.4% had diffuse pleural fibrosis and 0.4% asbestosis. The significant variables for plaques were age, sex, type of asbestos fibre, e.g. actinolite and tremolite, and exposure duration, while there was a negative relationship with cumulative exposure. The variables affecting diffuse pleural fibrosis were age, exposure duration and cumulative exposure. In conclusion, villagers exposed to environmental asbestos have high frequencies of pleural plaques and diffuse pleural fibrosis, similar to occupationally exposed asbestos cohorts. Different types of asbestos appear to result in different frequencies of pleural lesions.