A systematic review of occupational exposure to synthetic vitreous fibers and mesothelioma.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated whether available epidemiological and toxicological data suggest an increased risk of mesothelioma among workers exposed to synthetic vitreous fibers (SVF).


METHODS
We conducted a systematic review of epidemiological studies on the risk of mesothelioma among workers exposed to SVF, and toxicological studies on SVF and mesothelioma.


RESULTS
Seven cohort studies were conducted among workers employed in production of rock/slag wool, glass wool, or continuous glass filament in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Of the six deaths from mesothelioma identified in these studies, three had exposure to asbestos. A review of death certificates in a study of rock wool production workers identified one additional probable death. A formal comparison with expected deaths is not feasible. Four community-based case-control studies were identified, of which three reported an increased risk among SVF-exposed workers. The number of cases not exposed to asbestos was less, and residual confounding from asbestos exposure misclassification may explain the association in these studies. The toxicology review of SVF suggested that they present a low hazard mostly due to their low biopersistence, typically with a half-life in rat studies of tens of days compared to amphibole asbestos which has a half-life of 400-500 days.


CONCLUSIONS
The combined evidence from epidemiology and toxicology provide little evidence that exposure to SVF increases the risk of mesothelioma.
Institute for Translational Epidemiology and Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York, NY , USA.
Paolo
P
Boffetta
Ken
K
Donaldson
Suresh
S
Moolgavkar
Jack S
JS
Mandel
D000818:Animals; D001194:Asbestos / Q000633:toxicity*; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D019016:Mineral Fibers / Q000633:toxicity*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D051381:Rats; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
D019016:Mineral Fibers; D001194:Asbestos