Author Description

What are the carcinogenic risks to the general population from environmental exposure to mineral fibers? The international contributors to this volume focus on this question, and offer the perspectives of different fields of investigation: industrial hygiene, toxicology, epidemiology, and the study of short- and long-term effects. The papers reflect the increasing concern over the potential hazard from exposure to asbestos and other fibers to individuals outside known danger areas such as industrial sites. Major emphasis is given to the problem of assessing effects of exposure to very low levels of airborn fibers and to the reliability of extrapolating risk estimates from a dose-response based on high levels of exposure. Contents include experimental data on the carcinogenic effects of mineral fibers and their mechanism of action, fiber level measurements in the lung and their correlation with air samples, methods of determining airborn levels, epidemiological data on the hazards of non-occupational exposure, and problems of risk evaluation.