Past Asbestos Exposure in Rolling Stock Manufacturing in the Absence of Environmental Monitoring: An Original Method.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is the reconstruction of asbestos exposure in absence of environmental monitoring data, to use the results in a cohort study of railway rolling stock workers.

METHODS

To reconstruct past exposures, the production data (number of rolling stock and asbestos content) and working methods were reconstructed with former employees and company documentation, literature data, and author expertise.

RESULTS

The result of the work is a job/exposure matrix from 1956 to 1979, when sprayed asbestos was used as insulator of the metal bodies. Annual exposure estimate varies from 0.08 to 4.9 fb/mL depending on the specific jobs. Thirty-one mesotheliomas with occupational exposure, one with environmental and one with family exposures, were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

The originality of the study consists on the use of company production data to establish frequency duration of asbestos exposure.