Trends in airborne chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in asbestos cement manufacturing factories in Zimbabwe from 1996 to 2016

Zimbabwe has two major factories that have been manufacturing chrysotile asbestos cement products since the 1940s. Exposure monitoring of airborne fibres has been ongoing since the early 1990s. This study examines trends in personal exposure chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations for the period 19...

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Main Authors: Mutetwa, Benjamin, Moyo, Dingani, Brouwer, Derk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI 2022
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Online Access:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34682496/
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4755
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author Mutetwa, Benjamin
Moyo, Dingani
Brouwer, Derk
author_facet Mutetwa, Benjamin
Moyo, Dingani
Brouwer, Derk
author_sort Mutetwa, Benjamin
collection DSpace
description Zimbabwe has two major factories that have been manufacturing chrysotile asbestos cement products since the 1940s. Exposure monitoring of airborne fibres has been ongoing since the early 1990s. This study examines trends in personal exposure chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations for the period 1996-2016. Close to 3000 historical personal exposure measurements extracted from paper records in the two factories were analysed for trends in exposure. Exposure over time was characterised according to three time periods and calendar years. Mean personal exposure chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations generally showed a downward trend over the years in both factories. Exposure data showed that over the observed period 57% and 50% of mean personal exposure chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in the Harare and Bulawayo factories, respectively, were above the OEL, with overexposure being exhibited before 2008. Overall, personal exposure asbestos fibre concentrations in the factories dropped from 0.15 f/mL in 1996 to 0.05-0.06 f/mL in 2016-a decrease of 60-67%. These results can be used in future epidemiological studies, and in predicting the occurrence of asbestos-related diseases in Zimbabwe.
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spelling ir-11408-47552022-06-27T13:49:06Z Trends in airborne chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in asbestos cement manufacturing factories in Zimbabwe from 1996 to 2016 Mutetwa, Benjamin Moyo, Dingani Brouwer, Derk airborne asbestos fibre concentration chrysotile asbestos exposure personal exposure trends Zimbabwe has two major factories that have been manufacturing chrysotile asbestos cement products since the 1940s. Exposure monitoring of airborne fibres has been ongoing since the early 1990s. This study examines trends in personal exposure chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations for the period 1996-2016. Close to 3000 historical personal exposure measurements extracted from paper records in the two factories were analysed for trends in exposure. Exposure over time was characterised according to three time periods and calendar years. Mean personal exposure chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations generally showed a downward trend over the years in both factories. Exposure data showed that over the observed period 57% and 50% of mean personal exposure chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in the Harare and Bulawayo factories, respectively, were above the OEL, with overexposure being exhibited before 2008. Overall, personal exposure asbestos fibre concentrations in the factories dropped from 0.15 f/mL in 1996 to 0.05-0.06 f/mL in 2016-a decrease of 60-67%. These results can be used in future epidemiological studies, and in predicting the occurrence of asbestos-related diseases in Zimbabwe. 2022-03-24T14:02:07Z 2022-03-24T14:02:07Z 2021 Article 1660-4601 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34682496/ http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4755 en International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health;Vol.18 , Iss.20 open MDPI
spellingShingle airborne asbestos fibre concentration
chrysotile asbestos
exposure
personal exposure
trends
Mutetwa, Benjamin
Moyo, Dingani
Brouwer, Derk
Trends in airborne chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in asbestos cement manufacturing factories in Zimbabwe from 1996 to 2016
title Trends in airborne chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in asbestos cement manufacturing factories in Zimbabwe from 1996 to 2016
title_full Trends in airborne chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in asbestos cement manufacturing factories in Zimbabwe from 1996 to 2016
title_fullStr Trends in airborne chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in asbestos cement manufacturing factories in Zimbabwe from 1996 to 2016
title_full_unstemmed Trends in airborne chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in asbestos cement manufacturing factories in Zimbabwe from 1996 to 2016
title_short Trends in airborne chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in asbestos cement manufacturing factories in Zimbabwe from 1996 to 2016
title_sort trends in airborne chrysotile asbestos fibre concentrations in asbestos cement manufacturing factories in zimbabwe from 1996 to 2016
topic airborne asbestos fibre concentration
chrysotile asbestos
exposure
personal exposure
trends
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34682496/
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4755
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AT moyodingani trendsinairbornechrysotileasbestosfibreconcentrationsinasbestoscementmanufacturingfactoriesinzimbabwefrom1996to2016
AT brouwerderk trendsinairbornechrysotileasbestosfibreconcentrationsinasbestoscementmanufacturingfactoriesinzimbabwefrom1996to2016