Radiological abnormalities and asbestos exposure among custodians of the New York City Board of Education
- Department of Community Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY (United States)
Six hundred sixty custodians employed by the New York City Board of Education underwent examination from 1985 through 1987 for asbestos-related disease and other general medical conditions by the clinical staff of the Division of Environmental and Occupational Medicine of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York. Two-thirds of the men (no women were examined) were 20 or more years from onset of any custodial work, with 44% having had at least 20 years of employment as custodial workers in New York City Board of Education schools. Twenty-four percent had begun custodial work in buildings 30 or more years earlier. Findings among them were of particular interest since asbestos-related disease might forecast what might be expected among school custodians with less seniority. Since the Board of Education, in selecting custodians for examination, had chosen only custodians currently employed, the study group comprised men still working in the school system. These, then, represented a survivor population'. Although a considerable amount of clinical information was obtained, abnormalities on chest X-ray consistent with asbestos-induced scarring were used as the key index of disease resulting from exposure to asbestos. Since scarring of the lung tissue may be present but undetectable on standard chest radiographs (a relatively insensitive diagnostic technique), the prevalence of abnormality on X-ray film represents a conservative estimate of the actual burden of scarring lung disease in the group. Such changes are indicative of previous asbestos exposure, however, and provide evidence of an increased risk of later asbestos-related malignancy. Overall, abnormalities on chest X-ray consistent with asbestos-related scarring were found in 28% of the men examined.
- OSTI ID:
- 5375228
- Journal Information:
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences; (United States), Vol. 643; ISSN 0077-8923
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ASBESTOS
HEALTH HAZARDS
LUNGS
SENSITIVITY
NEW YORK CITY
SCHOOL BUILDINGS
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
EPIDEMIOLOGY
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
PERSONNEL
AIR POLLUTION
BODY
BUILDINGS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISEASES
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES
HAZARDS
NEW YORK
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANS
POLLUTION
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
URBAN AREAS
USA
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology