Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Workers in Sri Lanka

Background: Asbestos products are manufactured and used in Sri Lanka in the construction and automobile industries. Objective: To determine radiologically if exposure to asbestos caused lung disease among workers handling asbestos products, and to generate data in Sri Lanka where no such data exist...

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Autores principales:	B. Aseni Wickramatillake, Menaka A. Fernando, Arthur L. Frank
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Ubiquity Press 2019
Materias:	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d5a215bdbb0449aba462eeca939a4d16
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d5a215bdbb0449aba462eeca939a4d162021-12-02T08:10:44ZPrevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Workers in Sri Lanka2214-999610.5334/aogh.2575https://doaj.org/article/d5a215bdbb0449aba462eeca939a4d162019-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/2575https://doaj.org/toc/2214-9996Background: Asbestos products are manufactured and used in Sri Lanka in the construction and automobile industries. Objective: To determine radiologically if exposure to asbestos caused lung disease among workers handling asbestos products, and to generate data in Sri Lanka where no such data exist due to poor reporting and a poor surveillance system. Methods: Following ethics approval and written consent plain chest X-rays and exposure data were obtained in 230 workers in asbestos manufacturing, building construction, building demolition, tsunami debris cleanup, and other trades. The assumption was that all exposed workers were exposed to chrysotile. Participants were from provinces with asbestos factories, and where tsunami cleanup had occurred. Findings and Conclusions: Radiological findings of the 230 participants showed lung fibrosis in 7% (16 cases), and other non-asbestos-related lung conditions. Of the 16 fibrosis cases, none were in manufacturing workers, one in a construction worker, six in tsunami workers, six in demolition workers, and three cases in others. Globally, Sri Lanka has one of the highest consumptions of chrysotile asbestos per capita. This first known study documenting asbestos disease in Sri Lanka is clearly a limited, self-selected group of workers studied with obvious limitations. The prevalence of asbestos-related lung disease among tsunami and demolition worker indicates that a risk exists for asbestos material already in use in Sri Lanka. Hence a significant concern is the safety of asbestos demolition workers and cleanup workers exposed to asbestos debris from major natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, typhoons, and tsunamis.B. Aseni WickramatillakeMenaka A. FernandoArthur L. FrankUbiquity PressarticleInfectious and parasitic diseasesRC109-216Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENAnnals of Global Health, Vol 85, Iss 1 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 B. Aseni Wickramatillake Menaka A. Fernando Arthur L. Frank Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Workers in Sri Lanka
description	Background: Asbestos products are manufactured and used in Sri Lanka in the construction and automobile industries. Objective: To determine radiologically if exposure to asbestos caused lung disease among workers handling asbestos products, and to generate data in Sri Lanka where no such data exist due to poor reporting and a poor surveillance system. Methods: Following ethics approval and written consent plain chest X-rays and exposure data were obtained in 230 workers in asbestos manufacturing, building construction, building demolition, tsunami debris cleanup, and other trades. The assumption was that all exposed workers were exposed to chrysotile. Participants were from provinces with asbestos factories, and where tsunami cleanup had occurred. Findings and Conclusions: Radiological findings of the 230 participants showed lung fibrosis in 7% (16 cases), and other non-asbestos-related lung conditions. Of the 16 fibrosis cases, none were in manufacturing workers, one in a construction worker, six in tsunami workers, six in demolition workers, and three cases in others. Globally, Sri Lanka has one of the highest consumptions of chrysotile asbestos per capita. This first known study documenting asbestos disease in Sri Lanka is clearly a limited, self-selected group of workers studied with obvious limitations. The prevalence of asbestos-related lung disease among tsunami and demolition worker indicates that a risk exists for asbestos material already in use in Sri Lanka. Hence a significant concern is the safety of asbestos demolition workers and cleanup workers exposed to asbestos debris from major natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, typhoons, and tsunamis.
format	article
author	B. Aseni Wickramatillake Menaka A. Fernando Arthur L. Frank
author_facet	B. Aseni Wickramatillake Menaka A. Fernando Arthur L. Frank
author_sort	B. Aseni Wickramatillake
title	Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Workers in Sri Lanka
title_short	Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Workers in Sri Lanka
title_full	Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Workers in Sri Lanka
title_fullStr	Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Workers in Sri Lanka
title_full_unstemmed	Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Workers in Sri Lanka
title_sort	prevalence of asbestos-related disease among workers in sri lanka
publisher	Ubiquity Press
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/d5a215bdbb0449aba462eeca939a4d16
work_keys_str_mv	AT baseniwickramatillake prevalenceofasbestosrelateddiseaseamongworkersinsrilanka AT menakaafernando prevalenceofasbestosrelateddiseaseamongworkersinsrilanka AT arthurlfrank prevalenceofasbestosrelateddiseaseamongworkersinsrilanka
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Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Workers in Sri Lanka

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