Abstract
In Dunedin, a New Zealand town without heavy industries, only 3 out of 100 adults were found at autopsy to harbour asbestos bodies in the lungs as judged by examination of 30 mU sections. A much more sensitive method, involving digestion of lung tissue and examination of the residue, revealed asbestos bodies in 43 of the first 50 subjects (i.e. over 85%); in nearly all cases these bodies were few. Associated pleural plaques were seen only once in the whole series of 100.
Many different methods for finding asbestos bodies have been used by others. Uniformity of technique is necessary if results of work at different times and in different places are to be comparable. Reliance on 30 mU sections alone may lead to failure in detection of biologically important numbers of asbestos bodies.