Asbestos dust concentrations and health conditions of workers at asbestos-cement corrugated sheet production manufacturers in Vietnam: a nationwide assessment

Abstract

This study examined contemporary concentrations of asbestos dust during production and the health conditions of workers at asbestos-cement corrugated sheet production manufacturers in Vietnam. A nationwide survey was conducted on 28 factories (with 206 air samples) and 2459 workers. Asbestos fiber dust and the health status of workers were assessed. Results showed that 108/206 (52.4%) samples had asbestos fiber dust. The average concentration of asbestos fibers was 0.19 ± 0.14 fibers/ml. The percentage of workers with thickened pleural lesions/pleural calcification nodules was low. More studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of biomarkers in preventing the onset of lung cancer and mesothelioma in workers.

Keywords:

• environment
• health
• worker
• asbestos
• manufacturer

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Vietnam Government.