Correlation of quantitative asbestos body counts and occupation in urban patients.

Asbestos bodies were quantified in digests of lung from 252 urban patients who were over 40 years of age. Patients were assigned to six occupational categories that had been determined without knowledge of asbestos body counts. Asbestos bodies were present in the lungs of 96% of the total population. Fewer than 12% of the white-collar men and the blue- and white-collar women had more than 100 asbestos bodies per gram of lung, whereas 32% of the blue-collar men not working in steel mills or construction, 45% of steelworkers, and 65% of construction workers had more than 100 asbestos bodies per gram lung. This distribution suggests that almost everyone in our population has some exposure to asbestos, and certain persons are subject to an additional occupational exposure. Whether asbestos bodies in low concentration are related to disease remains to be determined.