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Biomedical subjects

H J Woitowitz

Publications and source records attributed to H J Woitowitz.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Asbestos-related diseases in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Until recently, in the Federal Republic of Germany there has been a lack of epidemiological data on asbestos-related tumors. Only the numbers of occupational diseases accepted for compensation by the German industrial injuries insurance institutes (Berufsgenossenschaften) can be stated. These show, for 1979, 94 cases of asbestosis, 21 cases of asbestosis associated with lung cancer, and 34 cases of mesothelioma. Since 1972 employees exposed to asbestos dust have been included in a central register by the industrial injuries insurance institutes and are medically examined periodically. By December 31, 1979, 28,476 persons were registered. Of those, 6,582 were still being followed medically, although they were no longer working with asbestos dust exposure. In January 1, 1977, a prospective epidemiological study was started with these people who were formerly exposed to asbestos dust. Up to December 31, 1980, altogether 2,944 people were enrolled in the study. Besides several other enrollment criteria, the individual's permission was required to evaluate his personal data. Of the people enrolled, 85 had died by December 31, 1980. Even if five questionable cases of lung cancer are excluded (n = 80), the observed rates of about 43% tumours of all sites, with 15% lung cancer and 6% mesothelioma, seem to be comparable to the international epidemiological mortality pattern.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Estimation of exposure to asbestos-cement dust on building sites.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, about 1.2 million tons of asbestos are handled on building sites, for example, by roofers, carpenters and ventilation fitters. The objective of this study was to determine both the exposure to dust during the handling of asbestos-cement products on building sites and the possible resulting fibrogenic health hazard. In order to assess the tumour risk, this cross-sectional study should be enlarged to a longitudinal study. Dust measurements were made on about 40 building sites with four static and four personal dust samplers and a Tyndallometer. Evaluation was performed by infrared spectrography and light and scanning electron microscopy. Peak concentrations of more than 100 fibres/ml of length greater than 5 micrometers or about 80 mg/m3 fine dust were observed in the vicinity of the grinding machine. The asbestos content of the fine dust was about 10%. Scanning electron microscopy showed a wide variation of fibre lengths and diameters; a large proportion of fibres with diameters below 0.2 micrometers was found. Long-term, mean values and confidence intervals of the concentration of fine dust were calculated from the measurements. For example, the mean fine dust mass concentrations for roofers cutting corners of asbestos-cement sheets with the grinding machine amounted to 2.2 mg/m3 when the cutting was done in the open air at a fixed location. When cutting was performed on the roof, the mean fine dust mass concentration amounted to 1.8 mg/m3.

Air Pollutants↗