Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec;67(12):1077-1088.
doi: 10.1002/ajim.23668. Epub 2024 Oct 14.

Surveillance of asbestos related disease among workers enrolled in an exposure registry

Victoria H Arrandale  1   2 , Colin Berriault  2 , Chaojie Song  2 , Nathan DeBono  1   2 , Paul A Demers  1   2
Affiliations

Surveillance of asbestos related disease among workers enrolled in an exposure registry

Victoria H Arrandale et al. Am J Ind Med. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: Contemporary asbestos exposure occurs during construction, remediation, and maintenance involving asbestos-containing materials (ACM), as compared to the historical exposure scenarios of asbestos mining and milling. The Ontario Asbestos Workers Register (AWR) was established in 1986 to track asbestos exposure among construction workers. This study reports on the risk of asbestos-related diseases (ARD) among workers in the AWR.

Methods: AWR registrants were linked probabilistically with administrative health databases (1986-2019) to identify cases of ARD including both cancer and chronic respiratory disease. Follow-up began at AWR enrollment and continued prospectively. Incidence rates were compared to the general population using standardized incidence ratios (SIRs). Associations between ACM exposure and ARD were estimated among AWR registrants using Poisson regression.

Results: In total, 26,204 (81%) registrants were linked successfully. Common industries of employment were construction (62%), manufacturing (19%) and education (8%). Among men and women mesothelioma (M:SIR 6.83 [95% CI = 5.56-8.31]; W:SIR 19.2 [3.86-56.1]) and pulmonary fibrosis (M:SIR 14.1 [12.2-16.2]; W:SIR 9.25 [2.49-23.7]) rates were higher than the general population. Asbestosis risk was elevated among men (M:SIR 11.2 [9.59-13.1]). Workers with longer reported exposures (≥140 h) had increased rates of lung cancer (RR 1.34 [1.10-1.63]), mesothelioma (RR 2.83 [1.75-4.58]), asbestosis (RR 3.07 [2.12-4.43]), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (RR 1.42 [1.29-1.57]), and pulmonary fibrosis (RR 1.88 [1.35-2.62]).

Conclusion: Exposure to asbestos in construction and building maintenance continues to contribute to ARD incidence. Despite a Canadian ban on asbestos in new products, exposures to existing ACM will persist from construction activities. The AWR offers an opportunity for ongoing surveillance of resulting ARD in Ontario.

Keywords: asbestos; asbestos related diseases; construction; exposure registries; surveillance.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. IARC Working Group. A Review of Human Carcinogens ‐ Arsenic, Metals, Fibres, and Dusts. 100C. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC); 2012. https://publications.iarc.fr/Book-And-Report-Series/Iarc-Monographs-On-T...
    1. Li X, Su X, Wei L, Zhang J, Shi D, Wang Z. Assessing trends and burden of occupational exposure to asbestos in the United States: a comprehensive analysis from 1990 to 2019. BMC Pub Health. 2024;24(1):1404. doi:10.1186/s12889-024-18919-7
    1. McDonald JC, Liddell FD, Dufresne A, McDonald AD. The 1891‐1920 birth cohort of Quebec chrysotile miners and millers: mortality 1976‐88. Br J Ind Med. 1993;50(12):1073‐1081. doi:10.1136/oem.50.12.1073
    1. Ferrante D, Mirabelli D, Silvestri S, et al. Mortality and mesothelioma incidence among chrysotile asbestos miners in Balangero, Italy: a cohort study. Am J Ind Med. 2020;63(2):135‐145. doi:10.1002/ajim.23071
    1. L. Frank A, Joshi TK. The global spread of asbestos. Anna Global Health. 2014;80(4):257‐262. doi:10.1016/j.aogh.2014.09.016

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources