13:30 - 15:30, No.2 Conference Room
Workshop E
Epidemiology and Public Health
Chairs: Gunnar Hillerdal and Kohki Inai
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Neonila Szeszenia-Dabrowska
Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
ABSTRACT
Introduction and aims
The paper presents data on incidence of mesotheliomas and cause-specific mortality among inhibitants in the asbestos contamination area in the vicinity of the asbestos cement plant.
In 1959 an asbestos cement factory was founded in the rural area of south-eastern Poland. Apart from chrysotile asbestos, crocidolite was used till 1985 chiefly for the manufacture of pressure pipes. The blue asbestos made up 15% of the mean annual tonnage of the processed asbestos. It was found that soon after asbestos production had started the process wastes were made available to local community. For over thirty years asbestos wastes of all kinds, both wet - process sludge - and dry from pipe and sheet grinding, were exploited for the hardening of roads, paths, farmyards and sports fields and as construction material components. This has contributed to the scattering of asbestos emission sources over the area and to the ubiquity of asbestos wastes containing large amounts of blue asbestos, visible by the naked eye. The contaminated area covers about 12,000ha and has a population of 14,000 inhibitants.
The project was a combination of a cohort study and epidemiological observation of all cancers cases. In the period 1987-2004 among population of the Szczucin 58 cases of pleural mesothelioma were recorded. The risk of mesothelioma is 125 times as high as for general population of Poland. The general mortality and mortality from asbestos-related diseases on the Szczucin district was compared with mortality of the population of neighbouring district which was free of asbestos. The cohort consisted of people who inhabited these districts for at least 3 years between 1975 and 2002.
The health condition of the district inhabitants, which reflects the ecological hazard over this territory, requires immediate complex activities for environmental remediation and prevention of health effects.