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Friday 19, November, 2004, 12:30-18:30, (16:00-17:00, Q&A) No.3 CR Saturday 20, November, 2004, 09:30-18:30, (16:00-17:00, Q&A) No.3 CR Sunday 21, November, 2004, 09:30-12:30, No.3 CR Poster Sessions Review of NSW Dust Disease Board Clients Compensated for Asbestos Induced Lung Cancer: 1998-2003 Rebecca Hyland Workers Compensation Dust Diseases Board of New South Wales, Australia ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Australia has been a prolific user of asbestos materials over the last 50 years. The NSW Dust Diseases Board (DDB) is a statutory authority which provides compensation to workers whose disablement can be attributed to inhaled silica or asbestos exposure while employed in NSW. A long-standing dilemma faced by compensation bodies is the process of determining that persons historical dust exposure has been sufficiently high enough to attribute lung cancer directly to their occupational exposure. The DDB uses the presence of silicosis or asbestosis or 25 fibre/ml.years of asbestos exposure as its criteria. In this study we reviewed information on all clients compensated by the DDB for a dust related lung cancer in the last five years to examine their clinical, occupational and exposure characteristics. Between 1998-2003 a total of 138 ex-workers were compensated by the NSW Dust Disease Board for asbestos associated lung cancer (n=127) and silica associated lung cancer (n=11). Clinical information including disease type, pathology, coexisting morbidities, smoking history and lung tissue fibre counts was reviewed as well as occupational histories recorded in face-to-face interviews by DDB case managers. Asbestos exposure assessments made by 3 expert industrial hygienists were assessed. All cases within this cohort were male and the majority was Australian born (75%). The average age of the group was 72 years. 67% were found to be ex-smokers with an average smoking history of 37 pack years. Adenocarinoma (38%) and Squamous-cell carcinoma (28%) were the most common histological cell types. The top three occupations where exposure to asbestos is believed to have occurred were Labourers, Waterside workers and Fitters. The top three industries were Building/Construction, Manufacturers of asbestos products and Power stations. In those with asbestos exposure 51 had asbestosis (40%). Industrial hygienist assessment of asbestos exposure varied widely in individual cases. |