Airborne asbestos exposures associated with gasket and packing replacement: A simulation study of flange and valve repair work and an assessment of exposure variables

Madl, Amy K.; Devlin, K; Pérez, Angela L.; Hollins, Dana M.; Cowan, Dallas M.; Scott, Paul K.; White, Katherine; Cheng, Thales J.; Henshaw, John L.

doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2014.10.017

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 38 publications

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“…Gaskets that contained asbestos, and most did not, normally contained between 40% and 80% chrysotile asbestos by weight [ 55 ]. Published studies for the relevant time periods indicate that 8-hour TWA exposures were generally below the current OSHA PEL of 0.1 f/cc, whether the worker was directly exposed [ 55 , 58 , 63 , 64 ] or indirectly as a bystander [ 65 , 66 ]. Madl et al [ 58 ] reviewed seven simulation studies and four work-site studies containing over 300 air samples for employees working with encapsulated asbestos-containing gaskets and packing materials [ 58 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational exposure to asbestos in the steel industry (1972–2006)

Paustenbach,

Stevens,

Tuttle

et al. 2023

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Background Historically, the use of asbestos in steelmaking has been limited to a few applications. Due to its physical and chemical properties, asbestos was not necessary or suitable for most purposes in a steel mill. The few applications where asbestos were used (i.e., certain gaskets, brakes, protective cloth, refractory materials, insulation materials, and hot top products) were replaced by alternative materials as they became available. Objective We discuss historical uses of asbestos in steel manufacturing and the associated airborne asbestos concentrations collected at sixteen U. S. Steel facilities between 1972 and 2006. Methods A total of 495 personal airborne asbestos samples from the U. S. Steel industrial hygiene records were analyzed across four time periods corresponding to changes in the OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) for asbestos. 68% of the samples (n = 337) were considered representative of an employee’s workday. The remaining samples (n = 158) represented task samples. Samples were grouped by facility, department, and job category within the four time periods. Results The average fiber concentrations measured for each facility and department over time were below the contemporaneous OSHA PEL. The mean representative workday asbestos air concentration from 1972 and 1975 was 1.09 f/cc. The mean representative workday concentration decreased to 0.13 f/cc between 1976 and 1985, then decreased again to 0.02 f/cc between 1986 and 1993 and 0.03 f/cc between 1994 and 2006. For task samples, the mean air concentration from 1972 to 1975 was 3.29 f/cc. The mean task sample concentration decreased to 0.48 f/cc between 1976 and 1985, then decreased again to 0.01 f/cc between 1986 and 1993 and 0.03 f/cc between 1994 and 2006. Only eleven out of the 495 samples (2.2%), for both task and representative workday samples, were in exceedance of the contemporaneous PEL(as an 8-hour TWA), ten of which occurred prior to 1978. Eight of these eleven PEL exceeding samples were task samples. Of the remaining three representative workday samples, two had unknown sampling times. Impact This paper presents an analysis of all the available personal sampling data for airborne asbestos across 16 facilities of the U. S. Steel Corporation between 1972 and 2006. This dataset has previously never been publicly shared or analyzed. It represents one of the more complete industrial hygiene datasets from a corporation to be presented in a scientific journal and, due to the similarities in the processes at each mill, it should reflect analogous exposures throughout the steelmaking industry in the United States. One of the benefits of presenting these data is that it also provides insight into where asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) were used in the steel making process. This is just one example of a large firm that released information that had previously remained in file cabinets for decades. We believe that another benefit of publishing this paper is that it may encourage the largest firms in industry to assemble and analyze their industrial hygiene data to benefit the occupational hygiene, medical, and epidemiology communities. This can support future epidemiology studies and improve the design of future industrial hygiene programs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational exposure to asbestos in the steel industry (1972–2006)

Paustenbach,

Stevens,

Tuttle

et al. 2023

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Serpentine and Amphibole Asbestos [A Subset of Elongated Mineral Particles (EMPs)]

“Tony” Havics,

Bernstein

2024

Patty's Toxicology

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The term asbestos refers to two very different minerals, serpentine and amphibole, occurring in fibrous form with very different mineralogical properties. Unfortunately, the term “asbestos” has been used loosely when, in fact, it has always been appropriate to discuss them separately. This chapter focuses on the key essential differences which result in very different toxicological and epidemiological responses to the fibers from these two minerals. In particular, it is discussed how a fiber's potency dictates the health risk, how the fiber's mineralogy affects biopersistence in the lung, and how fiber length determines how the lung responds to this characteristic. The differential toxicology is presented, as well as the epidemiology of these fibrous minerals. The regulations in the United Stated are also discussed. It is now convenient to use the term asbestos to describe a subset of elongated mineral particles (EMPs). Although the term has been discussed with potential differing definitions depending on the authors' purpose from 1979 to 2023, a popular working definition for EMPs is any mineral particle with a minimum aspect ratio of 3:1. This chapter will focus on the asbestos subset.

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A Review of Take‐Home Exposure and Risk Associated with the Handling of Clothing Contaminated with Asbestos

Ferracini,

Sahmel

2024

Human and Ecological Risk Assessment

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Airborne asbestos exposures associated with gasket and packing replacement: A simulation study of flange and valve repair work and an assessment of exposure variables

Cited by 5 publications

References 38 publications

Occupational exposure to asbestos in the steel industry (1972–2006)

Occupational exposure to asbestos in the steel industry (1972–2006)

Serpentine and Amphibole Asbestos [A Subset of Elongated Mineral Particles (EMPs)]

A Review of Take‐Home Exposure and Risk Associated with the Handling of Clothing Contaminated with Asbestos

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