13:30 - 15:30, No.2 Conference Room
Workshop E
Epidemiology and Public Health
Chairs: Gunnar Hillerdal and Kohki Inai
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Tao Li, Dehong Li
Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control, P.R.China
ABSTRACT:
China is a main country in the world to produce and use asbestos. Based the roughly statistics, the total reserves of asbestos is about ten million tons of chrysotile and forty five thousands tons of crocidolite, located mostly in Qinghai, Sichuan, Xinjiang and Shanxi provinces, and the output was about four hundred fifty thousand tons of chrysotile and about three hundred ninety thousand tons of products containing asbestos in 1996. There are about 10 thousand workers exposed to asbestos. A epidemical study showed that the prevalent cases of asbestosis at the end of 2003 was 6984 and about 800 cases had dead. The prevalence of pleura plaque is about 51% in the patient of asbestosis and 15% in the exposure workers. The registration of lung cancer related to asbestos exposure was 119, but autopsy study in 78 asbestosis patients showed that 21 complicated with lung cancer. The incidence of mesothelioma was relatively low. Anyway, we have taken measurements to reduce the use of asbestos. Asbestos has been completely banned to use in frictional materials in the auto industry since October, 2003.