Retired and former asbestos workers in Hawaii
In 1979, a pilot survey defined respiratory status and unmet health care needs of retired and former male asbestos workers in Hawaii. Of 1,401 identified subjects, 741 were contacted and 411 were interviewed. Forty-five subjects were between 39 and 54 years of age; 208, between 55 and 64; and 158, age 65 or more. They represented the main ethnic groups--Caucasian, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian, and Japanese--on Oahu. Most subjects had had significant exposure to asbestos in a shipyard, and 83% were current nonsmokers (160 had never smoked, and 111 were ex-smokers for ten years or more). Taking age and ethnicity into account, our group had more chronic respiratory and gastrointestinal problems than the comparable male population of Oahu in 1979, but fewer such problems than active shipyard workers elsewhere. These problems related primarily to current smoking status and secondarily to the length of asbestos exposure. Health care was available, but former workers used it less than retirees, despite having more symptoms. Very few abnormalities were reported by the subjects on their chest X-rays, pulmonary function tests, and sputum cytology performed elsewhere. These findings are compared to those of other shipyards, and support the hypothesis that the biological effects of asbestos exposure are generally mild in Hawaii.
- Research Organization:
- Community Cancer Program of Hawaii, Honolulu
- OSTI ID:
- 6586048
- Journal Information:
- Am. J. Ind. Med.; (United States), Vol. 6:2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Asbestos diseases and pulmonary symptoms and signs in shipyard workers and their families in Los Angeles
Behavioral, attitudinal, and psysiologic characteristics of smoking and nonsmoking asbestos-exposed shipyard workers
Related Subjects
ASBESTOS
HEALTH HAZARDS
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM DISEASES
EPIDEMIOLOGY
HAWAII
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
PERSONNEL
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
SURVEYS
DISEASES
FEDERAL REGION IX
HAZARDS
NORTH AMERICA
USA
560306* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Man- (-1987)