Asbestos content of omentum and mesentery in nonoccupationally exposed individuals

• Published in: Toxicology and industrial health Vol. 17; no. 4; pp. 138 - 143
• Main Authors: Dodson, Ronald F, O'Sullivan, Michael F, Brooks, Dwaina R, Bruce, James R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Publications 01.05.2001; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Asbestos; Asbestos - analysis; Asbestos - pharmacokinetics; Autopsy; Body Burden; Carcinogens - analysis; Carcinogens - pharmacokinetics; Child; Environmental Exposure; Female; Foreign-Body Migration; Humans; Lung - chemistry; Lungs; Lymphatic system; Male; Mesentery; Mesentery - chemistry; Mesothelioma; Microscopy; Microscopy, Electron; Middle Aged; Mineral Fibers; Omentum - chemistry; Toxicology; East Texas; United States > US; Texas; mesentery; ferruginous body; fibers; omentum; asbestos; extrapulmonary sites
• ISSN: 0748-2337; 1477-0393
• DOI: 10.1191/0748233701th101oa

Asbestos fibers in occupationally exposed individuals relocate from the lung to extrapulmonary sites. A mechanism for relocation is via the lymphatic circulation. Indeed, asbestos fibers have been found in lymph nodes as well as pleural plaques. Our laboratory has recently shown that asbestos fibers also reach the mesentery and omentum in the peritoneal area where a small percentage of mesotheliomas occurs in exposed individuals. The present study uses light and analytical transmission electron microscopy for defining the asbestos burden in digested lung, omentum, and mesentery tissues from individuals considered as representing the general population in East Texas. The findings, when compared with previous data from occupationally exposed individuals, indicate extreme contrasts as to the level and types of fiber burden between individuals representing the groups.