Domestic Asbestos Exposure: A Review of Epidemiologic and Exposure Data

Emily Goswami, Valerie Craven, David L. Dahlstrom, Dominik Alexander and Fionna Mowat
Additional contact information
Emily Goswami: Exponent, 475 14th Street, Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94612, USA
Valerie Craven: Exponent, 475 14th Street, Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94612, USA
David L. Dahlstrom: New Era Sciences, LLC, Issaquah, WA 98027, USA
Dominik Alexander: Exponent, 2595 Canyon Boulevard, Suite 440, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
Fionna Mowat: Exponent, 149 Commonwealth Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA

IJERPH, 2013, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-42

Abstract: Inhalation of asbestos resulting from living with and handling the clothing of workers directly exposed to asbestos has been established as a possible contributor to disease. This review evaluates epidemiologic studies of asbestos-related disease or conditions (mesothelioma, lung cancer, and pleural and interstitial abnormalities) among domestically exposed individuals and exposure studies that provide either direct exposure measurements or surrogate measures of asbestos exposure. A meta-analysis of studies providing relative risk estimates (n = 12) of mesothelioma was performed, resulting in a summary relative risk estimate (SRRE) of 5.02 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.48–10.13). This SRRE pertains to persons domestically exposed via workers involved in occupations with a traditionally high risk of disease from exposure to asbestos ( i.e. , asbestos product manufacturing workers, insulators, shipyard workers, and asbestos miners). The epidemiologic studies also show an elevated risk of interstitial, but more likely pleural, abnormalities (n = 6), though only half accounted for confounding exposures. The studies are limited with regard to lung cancer (n = 2). Several exposure-related studies describe results from airborne samples collected within the home (n = 3), during laundering of contaminated clothing (n = 1) or in controlled exposure simulations (n = 5) of domestic exposures, the latter of which were generally associated with low-level chrysotile-exposed workers. Lung burden studies (n = 6) were also evaluated as a surrogate of exposure. In general, available results for domestic exposures are lower than the workers’ exposures. Recent simulations of low-level chrysotile-exposed workers indicate asbestos levels commensurate with background concentrations in those exposed domestically.

Keywords: domestic; exposure; epidemiology; asbestos fibers; take-home (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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