Histopathology of lung showing
ferruginous body. A fiber of asbestos or related substance is coated by
an iron-protein complex and surrounded by macrophages.
Note: Senate Resolution 462 designates the first week of April 2008 as National Asbestos Awareness Week. The Resolution can be read here www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/eLibrary/2008_AAD_Files/ Resolution_2008_onepage.pdf. The proclamation urges public awareness about the prevalence of asbestos-related diseases and the dangers of asbestos exposure. NIOSH joins with our partners to re-emphasize the need to reduce health risks for men and women who may be exposed occupationally to asbestos. This topic page provides links to existing NIOSH recommendations for controlling work-related exposures. It also offers information about "Asbestos and Other Mineral Fibers: A Roadmap for Scientific Research," NIOSH's partnership to advance scientific research for reducing current uncertainties in developing worker protection policies for asbestos. |
"Asbestos" is a generic name given to a fibrous variety
of six naturally occurring minerals that have been used for decades in
the development of thousands of commercial products. The term
"asbestos" is not a mineralogical definition but a commercial name
given to a group of minerals that possess high tensile strength,
flexibility, resistance to chemical and thermal degradation, and
electrical resistance. These minerals have been used in many products,
including insulation and fireproofing materials, automotive brakes and
textile products, and cement and wallboard materials.
The asbestos minerals have a tendency to separate into
microscopic-size particles that can remain in the air and are easily
inhaled. Persons occupationally exposed to asbestos have developed
several types of life-threatening diseases, including lung cancer.
Although the use of asbestos and asbestos products has dramatically
decreased, they are still found in many residential and commercial
settings and continue to pose a health risk to workers and others.
NIOSHTIC-2 Search
NIOSHTIC-2
Search Results on Asbestos
NIOSHTIC-2 is a searchable
bibliographic database of occupational safety and health publications,
documents, grant reports, and journal articles supported in whole or in
part by NIOSH.
Recommendations for
Preventing Occupational Exposure to Asbestos
Draft Document for Public Review and Comment:
Asbestos and Other Mineral Fibers: A Roadmap for Scientific Research
NIOSH Docket Number NIOSH-099, February 2007
This document is intended as one step in the process. NIOSH intends to pursue partnerships with our Federal Agency partners and other stakeholders to help focus the scope of the research that can contribute to the scientific understanding of asbestos and other mineral fibers, to fund and conduct the research activities, and to develop and disseminate educational materials describing results from the mineral fiber research and their implications for occupational and public health policies and practices.
NIOSH Recommendations
for Limiting Potential Exposures of Workers to Asbestos Associated with
Vermiculite from Libby, Montana
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 2003-141 (2003)
Fact Sheet describes Vermiculite and Asbestos, and
provides recommendations to prevent occupational exposures.
Asbestos Bibliography (Revised)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 97-162 (1997)
Compendium of NIOSH research and recommendations on asbestos. It
updates and supersedes the NIOSH document Asbestos Publications
from June 1992.
Occupational Health
Guidelines for Chemical Hazards
Guidelines summarize pertinent information about chemical hazards for
workers, employers, and occupational safety and health professionals.
Specific Medical Tests
Published in the Literature for OSHA Regulated Substances: Asbestos
Database lists the specific medical tests published in the literature
for OSHA regulated substances. Updates of OSHA mandated tests (July 1,
2000) and NIOSH/OSHA recommendations are included.
Control of
Asbestos Exposure During Brake Drum Service
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 89-121 (1989)
Presents recommendations for engineering controls and work practices to
reduce exposure to asbestos during brake maintenance operations, more...
Workplace Exposure to Asbestos: Review and Recommendations:
NIOSH/OSHA Asbestos Work Group Recommendations
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 81-103 (1980)
PDF only 2285 KB (41 pages)
Includes information about sampling and analysis of airborne asbestos,
biologic effects of exposure, recommended occupational standards,
more...
Current Intelligence
Bulletin #31 – Adverse Health Effects of Smoking and the Occupational
Environment
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No 79-122 (1979)
Identifies six ways in which smoking can interact with workplace
exposures, including asbestos.
Revised Recommended Asbestos
Standard
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 77-169 (1976)
Review of information on the health effects of exposure to asbestos.
Criteria
for a Recommended Standard – Occupational Exposure to Asbestos
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 72-10267 (1972)
Presents the criteria and standards for preventing occupational
diseases arising from exposure to asbestos dust.
Asbestos Abatement
An
Evaluation of Glove Bag Containment in Asbestos Removal
NIOSH Publication No. 90-119 (1990)
Examines the effectiveness of the glove bag control method to prevent
asbestos emissions during the removal of asbestos-containing pipe
lagging.
B-Reader Program
NIOSH
B-Reader Program
NIOSH B-Reader approval is granted to physicians who demonstrate
proficiency in the classification of chest x-rays for the
pneumoconioses using the International Labour Office (ILO)
Classification System.
Conference Proceedings
Proceedings of the VIIth
International Pneumoconioses Conference Part I
NIOSH Publication No. 90-108 Part I (1990)
Proceedings of the VIIth
International Pneumoconioses Conference Part II
NIOSH Publication No. 90-108 Part II (1990)
Home Contamination
Protecting
Workers' Families: A Research Agenda: Report of the Workers' Family
Protection Task Force
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2002-113 (2002)
Represents the Task Force's commentary on the 1995 NIOSH Workers' Home
Contamination Study report, identifies gaps in the current knowledge
about take-home exposures and related health effects, and provides a
prioritized agenda for Federally sponsored research.
Protect Your Family:
Reduce Contamination at Home
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 97-125 (1997)
This report summarizes a NIOSH conducted a study of contamination of
workers' homes by hazardous substances transported from the workplace.
Report to Congress on
Workers' Home Contamination Study Conducted Under the Workers' Family
Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 671A)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 95-123 (September 1995)—Summary
This report to Congress and the Workers' Family Protection Task Force
summarizes incidents of home contamination, including the health
consequences, sources, and levels of contamination.
Sampling and Analysis
NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods
(NMAM), 4th edition
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-113 (1994)
NMAM is a collection of methods for sampling and analysis of
contaminants in workplace air, and in the blood and urine of workers
who are occupationally exposed. These methods have been developed or
adapted by NIOSH or its partners and have been evaluated according to
established experimental protocols and performance criteria. NMAM also
includes chapters on quality assurance, sampling, portable
instrumentation, etc.
- Method #7400 - Asbestos and Other Fibers by PCM
PDF only 140 KB (15 pages)
- Method #7402 - Asbestos by TEM
PDF only 37 KB (7 pages)
- Method #9000 - Asbestos, Chrysotile by XRD
PDF only 42 KB (6 pages)
- Method #9002 - Asbestos (bulk) by PLM
PDF only 175 KB (9 pages)
NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical
Hazards
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 97-140
Exposure limits, Respirator Recommendations, First Aid, more...
The Pocket Guide is a source of general industrial hygiene information on several
hundred chemicals/classes found in the work environment. Key data provided for
each chemical/substance includes name (including synonyms/trade names), structure/formula,
CAS/RTECS Numbers, DOT ID, conversion factors, exposure limits, IDLH, chemical
and physical properties, measurement methods, personal protection, respirator
recommendations, symptoms, and first aid.
Worker Notification Program
Through the NIOSH Worker
Notification Program, NIOSH notifies workers and other stakeholders
about the findings of past research studies related to a wide variety
of exposures. The links below present archival materials sent to
participants in studies related to drycleaning.
Surveillance
Occupational
Respiratory Disease Surveillance (ORDS)
NIOSH Topic Page about occupational respiratory disease medical
screening and monitoring
Atlas of Respiratory Disease
Mortality, United States: 1982-1993
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 98-157 (1998)
This report presents maps showing geographic distributions (by health
service area) of mortality associated with selected respiratory
conditions that together represent nearly all respiratory diseases. For
categories of traditional occupational lung diseases mapped in this
atlas (i.e., the pneumoconioses, including coal workers’
pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, silicosis, byssinosis, and other and
unspecified pneumoconioses), nearly all cases are attributable to
hazardous occupational exposure.
Worker Health Chartbook, 2000
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2000-127 (2000)
The Worker Health Chartbook presents data and charts that characterize
types of injuries and illnesses by gender, race, industry, and
occupation. In May 2002, sections of the Chartbook were re-packaged in
booklets highlighting fatal and nonfatal illnesses and injuries as well
as a focus on mining.
Work Related
Lung Disease Surveillance Report 2002
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2003-111 (2002)
The sixth of a series, the Work-Related Lung Disease (WoRLD)
Surveillance Report 2002 provides information on various work-related
respiratory diseases and associated exposures in the United States. The
WoRLD Surveillance Report 2002 describes where these diseases are
occurring (by industry and geographic location), who is affected (by
race, gender, age, and occupation), how frequently they occur, and
temporal trends.
Work
Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report 1999
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2000-105 (1999)
This surveillance report presents summary tables and figures of
occupational respiratory disease surveillance data focusing on various
occupationally-relevant respiratory diseases, including pneumoconioses,
occupational asthma and other airway diseases, and several other
respiratory conditions. For many of these diseases, selected data on
related exposures are also presented.
Work
Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report 1996
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 96-134 (1996)
This 1996 surveillance report provides national and state-specific
summaries of occupational respiratory disease surveillance data
focusing on pneumoconiosis mortality. Selected occupational respiratory
hazard sampling data relevant to pneumoconiosis are also presented.
Work
Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report 1994
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-120 (1994)
The 1994 Work-Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report (WoRLD) provides
a summary of surveillance data for various occupational respiratory
diseases from a variety of sources. The majority of the data in this
report is for the time period 1968-1990.
Work
Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report Supplement 1992
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 91-113s (1992)
Supplement to the first Work Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report
(WoRLD) which presents updated data and data which was previously
unpresented including sex, race, geographic distribution, industry and
occupation; number of discharges with silicosis or asbestosis from the
National Hospital Discharge Survey; and reports of occupational asthma
and silicosis from the SENSOR program.
Work
Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 91-113 (1991)
First of a series, this report represents a summary of data for various
occupational respiratory diseases divided into figures and tables.
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