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Environmental Health : a Global Access... Oct 2005Of an estimated 100,000 workers exposed to asbestos in India, less than 30 have been compensated. The reasons for such a small number are: refusal by management...
BACKGROUND
Of an estimated 100,000 workers exposed to asbestos in India, less than 30 have been compensated. The reasons for such a small number are: refusal by management sponsored studies to grant medical certifications to workers suffering from occupational diseases, lack of training for doctors in diagnosis of occupational lung diseases, deliberate misdiagnosis by doctors of asbestosis as either chronic bronchitis or tuberculosis and the inherent class bias of middle class doctors against workers. The aim of the study was to identify workers suffering from Asbestosis (parenchymal and pleural non-malignant disease) among the permanent workers of the Hindustan Composites Factory and assess their disability and medically certify them, whereupon they could avail of their basic rights to obtain compensation and proper treatment.
METHODS
The study was conducted by the Occupational Health and Safety Centre and the Workers' Union. Asbestosis was diagnosed if they had an occupational history of asbestos exposure for at least 15 years and showed typical radiographic findings.
RESULTS
Of 232 workers in the factory, 181 participated in the survey. 22% of them had asbestosis. All the asbestos affected workers had at least 20 years of exposure. 7% had rhonchi, 34% had late basal inspiratory rates, 82% had more than 80% of Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1)/Forced Vital capacity (FVC) ratio and 66% had FVC less than 80% of the predicted value. On radiology 7% had only pleural disease, 10% had both pleural and parenchymal disease and 82% had only parenchymal disease. The association of pleural disease with chest pain was statistically significant.
CONCLUSION
We found the prevalence of asbestosis among exposed workers to be less than that anticipated for the number of years of exposure due to "Healthy Worker Effect". We suggest that all affected asbestos workers (including those who have been forced to leave) in India be medically certified and compensated. We also recommend better control of asbestos use in India. We also implore the management to provide all information about the work process and its hazards, conduct medical checkups as mandated by law and give the medical records to the workers.
Topics: Adult; Asbestosis; Certification; Disability Evaluation; Extraction and Processing Industry; Health Surveys; Healthy Worker Effect; Humans; India; Labor Unions; Middle Aged; Occupational Exposure; Prevalence; Radiography; Workers' Compensation
PubMed: 16262892
DOI: 10.1186/1476-069X-4-24 -
American Journal of Industrial Medicine 1980This presentation is the result of the survey of eight industries with asbestosis risk in the Barcelona area (two of fibro-cement, three of auto brakes, two of textiles,...
This presentation is the result of the survey of eight industries with asbestosis risk in the Barcelona area (two of fibro-cement, three of auto brakes, two of textiles, and one of insulation materials). Of 1,472 workers, 271 or 18.5% have asbestosis. Pleural involvement in asbestosis is twice as common as that of the lung, 15.7% versus 8.5%. Pulmonary asbestosis without pleural participation is seen in only 2.6% of cases. Pleural plaques, calcified and not calcified, are detected in only a few cases. There is a definite correlation between the incidence of asbestosis and the exposure time: from 1% in the group of workers with less than five years of exposure up to 64.58% for those with 30 or more years of exposure. Clinical symptoms (cough, and/or expectoration, and/or dyspnea) were present in 68% of the studied population. Pulmonary crepitations are the most significant physical sign detected, observed in one quarter to one third of the patients. Pulmonary function tests in asbestos workers revealed restrictive and mixed type syndromes in 17% of the cases and obstructive syndrome in 36%. The percentages for those workers without asbestosis are 9% and 16%, respectively. It seems, therefore, that a bronchial factor plays a role in asbestosis. The bronchial pathology would be manifested clinically by the appearance or the exaggeration of the chronic bronchitis symptoms, and physiologically by the presence of the obstructive syndrome. There is no doubt that smoking enhances the incidence of asbestosis, aggravates the respiratory symptoms in those affected, and is a cause of further deterioration of pulmonary function.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Asbestosis; Environmental Exposure; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Radiography; Respiratory Function Tests; Smoking; Spain; Time Factors
PubMed: 7342762
DOI: 10.1002/ajim.4700010205 -
Internal Medicine (Tokyo, Japan) 2006A 73-year-old man with silico-asbestosis responded to steroid therapy. Chest CT scans showed diffuse micronodular opacities and ground glass opacities bilaterally...
A 73-year-old man with silico-asbestosis responded to steroid therapy. Chest CT scans showed diffuse micronodular opacities and ground glass opacities bilaterally throughout the entire lung fields, as well as progressive massive fibrosis in the bilateral upper lung fields. Diagnostic thoracoscopic biopsy revealed mixed dust pneumoconiosis with silicotic nodules, as well as fibrosis similar to that of Usual Interstitial Pneumonia (UIP) with many fibroblastic foci and alveolitis. Many asbestos bodies were also detected by iron staining.
Topics: Aged; Asbestosis; Humans; Male; Methylprednisolone; Prednisolone; Radiography; Silicosis
PubMed: 16946575
DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.45.1656 -
British Journal of Industrial Medicine Jul 1988
Topics: Asbestosis; Humans
PubMed: 3395579
DOI: No ID Found -
Revue Des Maladies Respiratoires Jun 2007
Topics: Asbestos; Asbestosis; Carcinogens; France; Humans; Legislation as Topic; Lung Neoplasms; Mesothelioma; Workers' Compensation
PubMed: 17632429
DOI: 10.1016/s0761-8425(07)91144-4 -
International Journal of Occupational... 2004This paper outlines the asbestos hazard in Scotland and draws upon a systematic oral history project to analyze from the workers' perspective the nature of exposure, the... (Review)
Review
This paper outlines the asbestos hazard in Scotland and draws upon a systematic oral history project to analyze from the workers' perspective the nature of exposure, the limitations of government regulatory initiatives, and the ramifications of contracting asbestos-related diseases for sufferers and their families. Current issues are investigated, stressing the agency of workers, trade unions, sympathetic local councils, and, especially, the victims' pressure groups. The occupational and environmental health threats of asbestos in Scotland remain significant, although recent E.U.- and U.K.-based decisions to ban further use of asbestos together with active campaigning by local activist groups have helped to reduce them. Mesothelioma mortality rates remain high, due to historic exposures, and much work remains to be done to reduce the number and plight of asbestos-exposed workers.
Topics: Asbestosis; Chemical Industry; Humans; Occupational Exposure; Public Policy; Scotland; Self-Help Groups
PubMed: 15281377
DOI: 10.1179/oeh.2004.10.2.183 -
Scandinavian Journal of Work,... Apr 1983Pathology standards for asbestos-associated diseases of the lungs and pleural cavities were recently developed by the Pneumoconiosis Committee of the United States...
Pathology standards for asbestos-associated diseases of the lungs and pleural cavities were recently developed by the Pneumoconiosis Committee of the United States College of American Pathologists under contract to the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The purpose of the contract was to develop standardized criteria for the pathological diagnosis of these diseases and to develop a system for grading the severity and extent of asbestosis. The results of a preliminary reading trial and the NIOSH statistical analysis of the trial are presented. These results indicate that the proposed grading schema has acceptable inter- and intra-observer variability. The variability is similar to that observed for radiologists in radiographic reading trials.
Topics: Asbestosis; Diagnostic Errors; Humans
PubMed: 6648414
DOI: 10.5271/sjweh.2429 -
The New England Journal of Medicine Feb 1980
Topics: Asbestosis; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Lung; Middle Aged
PubMed: 7351954
DOI: 10.1056/NEJM198002213020812 -
International Journal of Environmental... Mar 2011By the radiological examination, differential diagnosis of asbestosis from chronic interstitial pneumonia such as IPF/UIP is difficult. The pathological features of... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
By the radiological examination, differential diagnosis of asbestosis from chronic interstitial pneumonia such as IPF/UIP is difficult. The pathological features of asbestosis show the peribronchiolar fibrosis which suggest that asbestos fibers cause the inflammation of bronchioli. Therefore, the criteria for pathological diagnosis of asbestosis in 2010, contain the finding of peribronchiolar fibrosis again. Chest CT scanning including HRCT for total of 38 cases clinically diagnosed asbestosis were reviewed by 3 radiologists and one pulmonologist. On the other hand, the histology of lung tissues obtained by surgery or autopsy were examined by 4 pulmonological pathologists. Furthermore, the content of asbestos bodies in the lung was counted by phase-contrast microscopy. Thirteen cases were definitely diagnosed of asbestosis in the image including HRCT and 17 cases were diagnosed by the histopathological examination showing lung fibrosis with peribronchiolar fibrosis. Only 10 cases were indicated asbestosis by both the radiological and histopathological examinations. The mean value of asbestos bodies for these cases, was 2,133,255 per gram of dry lung tissue.
Topics: Aged; Asbestos; Asbestosis; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Fibrosis; Humans; Lung; Male; Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; Middle Aged; Occupational Exposure; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 21556185
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph8030899 -
Chest Apr 1990
Topics: Asbestosis; Humans; Radiography; Smoking
PubMed: 2323242
DOI: 10.1378/chest.97.4.769