A long look at asbestos

Abstract

The Health Effects of Asbestos is an attempt to take a critical, evidence-based view of the bulk of the asbestos medical literature, including history of its use and its health effects. Smith is a pulmonologist with an extensive history of diagnosing, treating, and researching asbestos-related illnesses, and he brings a critical eye to more than a century's worth of literature on the subject of a very strange substance.Asbestos is a fascinating material. A generic term for a number of minerals that share similar characteristics: fibrous, strong, resistant to heat, fire and electrical damage, and cheap. Its use in manufacturing skyrocketed in the 19th century in an astounding number of applications. Because of both its heat absorption and fire-resistance, asbestos was used extensively in the steamships. It began to be reported that there might be negative health effects associated with asbestos exposure around the turn of the 20th century. While there were periodic looks at individual cases and calls for concern, the problem of asbestos exposure was not taken seriously until decades later.Smith's book begins a discussion about limitations of what epidemiological studies can tell us about asbestos exposure. Despite the enormous amount of medical literature produced every year, Smith tells us that “fewer than 15% of all articles published on a particular topic are useful for clinical practice”. The value of Smith's volume is in bringing together an entire career's worth of concentration on a subject, with the trained and critical eye that has given him, to sift through the enormous literature on the subject.The book is broken into brief chapters that deal with discreet subjects that build up an overall picture of the effects of asbestos on humans. From a description of the geology of asbestos creation, the types of asbestos particles that are responsible for mesothelioma, to the relative safety of different types of asbestos and exposures, the book covers a lot of ground. For a volume that ranges so widely, Smith takes an interdisciplinary approach that can move from densely technical to very readable. The book encompasses pathology and legal sections to build up a picture of the consequences of this fascinating material. For any volume taking such a broad look, the issue of varying quality would be an issue. But Smith takes a broad look at a narrow subject, and one with an extensive body of literature built up over the 20th century. The Health Effects of Asbestos is an attempt to take a critical, evidence-based view of the bulk of the asbestos medical literature, including history of its use and its health effects. Smith is a pulmonologist with an extensive history of diagnosing, treating, and researching asbestos-related illnesses, and he brings a critical eye to more than a century's worth of literature on the subject of a very strange substance. Asbestos is a fascinating material. A generic term for a number of minerals that share similar characteristics: fibrous, strong, resistant to heat, fire and electrical damage, and cheap. Its use in manufacturing skyrocketed in the 19th century in an astounding number of applications. Because of both its heat absorption and fire-resistance, asbestos was used extensively in the steamships. It began to be reported that there might be negative health effects associated with asbestos exposure around the turn of the 20th century. While there were periodic looks at individual cases and calls for concern, the problem of asbestos exposure was not taken seriously until decades later. Smith's book begins a discussion about limitations of what epidemiological studies can tell us about asbestos exposure. Despite the enormous amount of medical literature produced every year, Smith tells us that “fewer than 15% of all articles published on a particular topic are useful for clinical practice”. The value of Smith's volume is in bringing together an entire career's worth of concentration on a subject, with the trained and critical eye that has given him, to sift through the enormous literature on the subject. The book is broken into brief chapters that deal with discreet subjects that build up an overall picture of the effects of asbestos on humans. From a description of the geology of asbestos creation, the types of asbestos particles that are responsible for mesothelioma, to the relative safety of different types of asbestos and exposures, the book covers a lot of ground. For a volume that ranges so widely, Smith takes an interdisciplinary approach that can move from densely technical to very readable. The book encompasses pathology and legal sections to build up a picture of the consequences of this fascinating material. For any volume taking such a broad look, the issue of varying quality would be an issue. But Smith takes a broad look at a narrow subject, and one with an extensive body of literature built up over the 20th century.