Abstract |
The extensive use of asbestos in industrial goods and in products of wide consumption and the spread of occupational diseases, especially asbestosis and tumors connected with the excessive effect of asbestos fibers in the air, have served as an impetus in the last ten years in many countries for numerous studies to learn the effect of asbestos on the body and for the development of standards and environmental control. Methods of enumeration and characterization of the effect of inhaled asbestos fibers used in different countries differ significantly from each other, making it extremely difficult or generally impossible to compare and exchange seemingly similar data. The significance of studies conducted throughout the world on asbestos would be much greater if the same means of sampling, enumeration and characterization of the effect of inhaled asbestos fibers were used. This would make it possible to exchange information among countries and create a common data bank, thereby increasing the volume, reliability and usefulness of information. |