Magee F, Wright J L, Chan N, Lawson L, Churg A
Am J Ind Med. 1986;9(6):529-33. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700090604.
A 41-year-old man was found to have a malignant mesothelioma of the pleura. During childhood in Corsica, he had been exposed at home to chrysotile ore from the Canari mine. Analysis of lung mineral content revealed background levels of chrysotile but an elevated level of tremolite and actinolite asbestos. The latter had a geometric mean length of 3.7 microns, a value considerably longer than we have found for tremolite and actinolite from Quebec chrysotile miners but roughly the same as the mean length of amosite and crocidolite in workers with occupational amphibole exposure. No tremolite or actinolite fibers of length greater than 8 microns microns and width less than 0.25 micron were observed. The mean aspect ratio of the tremolite and actinolite fibers was 7, a value similar to that found in chrysotile miners with mesothelioma but considerably less than the mean aspect ratio of amosite and crocidolite from those with occupational exposure. These data suggest that long-fiber tremolite is a potential mesothelial carcinogen in humans, and that fiber length is more important than fiber aspect ratio in this regard.
一名41岁男性被诊断患有胸膜恶性间皮瘤。他童年时在科西嘉岛，在家中接触过来自卡纳里矿的温石棉矿石。对肺部矿物质含量的分析显示，温石棉处于背景水平，但透闪石和阳起石石棉含量升高。后者的几何平均长度为3.7微米，该值比我们在魁北克温石棉矿工的透闪石和阳起石中发现的长度长得多，但与职业性接触闪石的工人中黑石棉和青石棉的平均长度大致相同。未观察到长度大于8微米且宽度小于0.25微米的透闪石或阳起石纤维。透闪石和阳起石纤维的平均长径比为7，这一数值与患有间皮瘤的温石棉矿工中发现的数值相似，但远低于职业性接触者中黑石棉和青石棉的平均长径比。这些数据表明，长纤维透闪石是人类潜在的间皮致癌物，在这方面纤维长度比纤维长径比更重要。
