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Pulmonary load Asbestos fibers are found throughout the body for life
Although the use of asbestos in Germany has been banned since the early 1990s, the material is still causing a great health hazard. Asbestos fibers that have entered the lungs remain traceable throughout their lives - and can lead to lung disease.
Use of asbestos prohibited since the early 1990s
Since asbestos has been identified as a carcinogen, the use of asbestos in Germany since 1993 has been virtually completely banned. Nevertheless, the material still poses a massive health hazard. After all, asbestos fibers that have entered the lungs are still detectable after decades - and dangerous.
In the past, asbestos was often used in construction. Since 1993, the material is prohibited in this country. But still there is a health hazard from him. For asbestos fibers are still detectable in the body for decades. (Image: Bernard MAURIN / fotolia.com) Asbestos fibers in the body detectable even after decades
Asbestos fibers are detectable in the human lung for almost 40 years in the same amount. This has shown the evaluation of a data set of the German Mesothelioma Registry at the Institute of Pathology of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB).
The dataset contains measurements of the concentration of asbestos in the lungs of one and the same human being collected at intervals of four to 21 years.
The research team around Inke Feder and Prof. Dr. med. Andrea Tannapfel has published the results of the study together with colleagues from the Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine (IPA) of the German Social Accident Insurance in the "European Respiratory Journal".
"Imperishable" material
Asbestos, a fibrous mineral found in natural rock, is highly prized in the industry for its biopersistence. Hence his name from the ancient Greek word "asbestos", which stands for "imperishable".
The lung dust analyzes carried out over 30 years and now for the first time evaluated in longitudinal section confirm this bio-resistance also for the human lung. The researchers included twelve cases in their investigation.
"The special feature of our data set is that many years after the end of the asbestos contact in one and the same person with an asbestos-related lung disease at intervals of 4 to 21 years, the asbestos concentration in the lung tissue was repeatedly determined," said Inke Feder in a statement.
"The asbestos concentration in the lungs remained stable over this long period of almost 40 years and was therefore detectable."
This result applies both to the harmful asbestos blue asbestos and the white asbestos. For the latter - which has been used the most in the industry - was in the professional world so far disputed whether the fibers survive in the lungs or not.
Asbestos in the lungs
While foreign particles that have entered the lungs are usually trapped by cilia, transported back into the airways and coughed up, fine fibers such as asbestos can penetrate deep into the alveoli.
As a reaction of the lungs, nebulous network-like diffuse scarring may form with the embedded dusts, the so-called asbestosis.
Since the asbestos fiber is so biopersistent, the phagocytes of the immune system can not degrade them. These phagocytes die and form the typical asbestos bodies. It releases ingredients that cause chronic inflammation, which can lead to cancer.
In addition, elements accumulate in this shell structure, which may also be responsible for the carcinogenic effect of asbestos bodies. A typical asbestos-related tumor is mesothelioma, which affects, among other things, the pleura.
But also lung cancer, throat cancer and ovarian cancer can be caused by asbestos. That's why asbestos has not been used in Germany since 1993 and since 2005 in the European Union.
Disease up to 60 years after asbestos contact
The time between the first asbestos contact and the onset of an asbestos-related illness can be ten to 60 years.
"This means that an asbestos-induced disease can still break out, even though the last contact with asbestos was a long time ago," explained Andrea Tannapfel, director of RUB pathology.
Since the treatment options vary greatly, it is essential to separate asbestos-related diseases from others. For example, pulmonary fibrosis not caused by asbestos is treatable with drugs that are not approved for asbestos because no efficacy has been shown.
Even a lung transplantation in advanced fibrosis is usually not considered for asbestosis patients.
"In the X-ray, asbestos-related lung fibrosis are hardly distinguishable from asbestosis", says Prof. Dr. med. Rolf Merget, occupational physician at the IPA. "Therefore, it is crucial that asbestos fibers in the lung tissue are still detectable after such a long time."
Last but not least, the question of the detectability of asbestos fibers in the lungs is crucial for assessing the risk of asbestos in the workplace. From this follows the decision as to whether a lung disease can be recognized as an occupational disease, so that those affected are entitled to compensation. (Ad)