Asbestos Exposure and Ferruginous Bodies in the Lungs

One interesting study is called, "Asbestos-contaminated nappies and familial mesothelioma." By Li, FP, Dreyfus, M Gand Antman, KH - Lancet. Vol. 1, no. 8643, pp. 909-910. 1989.  Here is an excerpt: "Mesothelioma has been reported in families of asbestos workers who carried home these fibers on body surfaces and soiled clothing. The authors identified another such cluster in which cotton cloth sacks in which moulded asbestos insulation had been transported were used to make diapers (nappies) for the children of an asbestos worker. The oldest child died of mesothelioma at age 32 years; her 29-year-old sister was similarly exposed but remains unaffected. The mother had laundered the diapers and her husband's workclothes, and she died of mesothelioma at age 49. Mesothelioma also developed in a 43-year-old maternal uncle, who, as a teenager, had lived in the contaminated household and worked briefly as an insulator. The father, an insulator, died with asbestosis and cirrhosis of the liver at age 53."

Another study is called, "Primary Pericardial Mesothelioma Following Exposure to Asbestos" by Kahn, EI, Rohl, A, Suzuki, Y, Barrett, W - Environmental Research ENVIRON. RES.. Vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 270-281. 1980.   Here is an excerpt: "This case illustrates the coexistence of a primary pericardial mesothelioma with sequelae of asbestos exposure. It provides strong evidence for an asbestos-induced mesothelioma arising in the pericardium. There was a clinical history of asbestos exposure 30 years prior to the onset of symptoms. Ferruginous bodies were seen in the lungs, proven to contain amosite by electron microprobe analysis. This is the type of fiber frequently associated with mesothelioma."

Another interesting study is called, "Asbestos exposure and ovarian fiber burden" by Debra S. Heller MD, Ronald E. Gordon PhD, Carolyn Westhoff MD, Susan Gerber MD - American Journal of Industrial Medicine Volume 29, Issue 5, pages 435-439 - May 1996.  Here is an excerpt: "Abstract - Epidemiologic studies suggest increased risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in female asbestos workers and increased risk of malignancy in general in household contacts of asbestos workers. Ovaries were studied from 13 women with household contact with men with documented asbestos exposure and from 17 women undergoing incidental oophorectomy. Ovarian tissue was examined by analytic electron microscopy.

Significant asbestos fiber burdens were detected in 9 out of 13 women with household asbestos exposure (69.2%), and in 6 out of 17 women who gave no exposure history (35%). Three exposed women had asbestos counts over 1 million fibers per gram wet weight (23%), but only 1/17 women without an exposure history had a count that high (6%). Although asbestos has been documented as a contaminant of some older cosmetic talc preparations, the chrysotile and crocidolite types of asbestos we detected are more indicative of background and/or occupational exposure.

This study demonstrates that asbestos can reach the ovary. Although the number of subjects is small, asbestos appears to be present in ovarian tissue more frequently and in higher amounts in women with a documentable exposure history."

We all owe a debt of gratitude to these fine researchers for their important work.  If you found any of these excerpts helpful, please read the studies in their entirety.