Occupational Medicine Clinic, General Health Services, Kfar Saba, Israel;
Int J Gen Med. 2008 Nov 30;1:15-20. doi: 10.2147/ijgm.s3715.
While a large number of studies indicate the risks of high-level exposures to asbestos in the workplace setting, a relatively small number of studies describe the risk of pleural disease related to "take-home" asbestos brought into the household by workers exposed to asbestos. Consequently, the risk of pleural disease in family members of asbestos-exposed workers is likely underappreciated.
Two families of siblings, one in Israel and one in the US, were evaluated because of their significant exposures to asbestos brought into the home by family members with heavy occupational exposures. Two of the four children of an asbestos cement debagger in Petach Tikvah, Israel and two children of a pipe lagger in a naval shipyard near Seattle, Washington, manifested benign pleural disease without parenchymal disease, despite having no occupational exposure to asbestos.
These cases illustrate that "take-home" asbestos exposure may lead to pleural disease at higher rates than commonly realized.
Providers should recognize that due to the potential for "take-home" exposures, asbestos-related disease in a patient may be a marker for disease in household contacts. Patients with family members heavily exposed to asbestos should be strongly encouraged to quit smoking in an effort to reduce any further carcinogenic exposures. Additionally, workplace control and regulation of asbestos use should be emphasized to protect both workers and their families.
尽管大量研究表明，在工作场所接触高水平石棉会带来风险，但只有少数研究描述了与工人接触石棉带入家中的“带入性”石棉有关的胸膜疾病风险。因此，很可能低估了接触石棉工人的家庭成员患胸膜疾病的风险。
由于家庭成员大量接触石棉带入家中，两个有兄弟姐妹的家庭，一个在以色列，一个在美国，接受了评估。在以色列佩塔提克瓦的一名石棉水泥切割工的四个孩子中的两个，以及华盛顿州西雅图附近海军船坞的一名管道衬里工的两个孩子，尽管没有职业性接触石棉，但均患有良性胸膜疾病而无实质器官疾病。
这些病例表明，“带入性”石棉暴露可能导致胸膜疾病的发生率高于通常所认识到的。
医务人员应认识到，由于存在“带入性”暴露的可能性，患者的石棉相关疾病可能是家庭接触者疾病的标志。对于有大量接触石棉的家庭成员的患者，应强烈鼓励其戒烟，以减少任何进一步的致癌性暴露。此外，应强调工作场所控制和规范石棉的使用，以保护工人及其家人。
