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Asbestos Measurements in Workplaces and Ambient Atmospheres

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Electron Microscopy in Forensic, Occupational, and Environmental Health Sciences

Abstract

The observation of respiratory disease among asbestos workers led to the promulgation of the Asbestos Industry Regulations in 1931 by the United Kingdom. This appears to be the first regulation specifically directed towards control of asbestos exposure in the workplace (Royal Commission on Asbestos, 1984). Because of the very long period between the first exposure of a worker to asbestos and the observation of adverse health effects, it has been difficult to establish airborne asbestos levels which, during a worker’s lifetime, would not give rise to clinically-detectable effects. Control limits which were initially established have been periodically revised downwards, in response to refinements in the epidemiological data as they became available. In the United States, the control limit initially set at the equivalent of 30 fibers/milliliter (fibers/mL) has been reduced to 2 fibers/mL, and proposals have been made to reduce this still further. One proposal, if adopted, would reduce the control limit to 0.1 fiber/mL. Throughout the rest of the world, the control limits have been set at levels ranging generally from 1 fiber/mL up to 5 fibers/mL.

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  1. Eric J. Chatfield

    Present address: , 2071 Dickson Rd., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, L5B 148

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  1. Chatfield Technical Consulting Limited, 2071 Dickson Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, L5B 1Y8

    Eric J. Chatfield

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. New York State Police Crime Laboratory, Albany, New York, USA

    Samarendra Basu Ph.D.

  2. McCrone Environmental Services, Inc., Norcross, Georgia, USA

    James R. Millette Ph.D.

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© 1986 Plenum Press, New York

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Chatfield, E.J. (1986). Asbestos Measurements in Workplaces and Ambient Atmospheres. In: Basu, S., Millette, J.R. (eds) Electron Microscopy in Forensic, Occupational, and Environmental Health Sciences. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5245-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5245-7_9

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