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Prediction of exposure to chrysotile asbestos fibers among Quebec miners and millers based on impinger measurements.

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Title: Prediction of exposure to chrysotile asbestos fibers among Quebec miners and millers based on impinger measurements.
Authors: Burstyn, Igor1 (AUTHOR), Gustafson, Paul2 (AUTHOR), Reiss, Boris3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Annals of Work Exposures & Health. Jun2026, Vol. 70 Issue 4, p1-12. 12p.
Subjects: Asbestos analysis, Air pollution, Environmental monitoring, Prediction models, Aerosols, Inhalation injuries, Empirical research, Professional associations, Uncertainty, Occupational exposure, Mineral industries, Data analysis software, Calibration, Regression analysis
Geographic Terms: Québec (Province)
Abstract: Introduction The cohort of chrysotile cohort workers from Quebec was established in the 1960s. It remains one of the most influential investigations into health risk of chrysotile asbestos. The cohort principally relies on measurements of asbestos-containing dust via impingers (as million particles per cubic foot of inhaled air, mpcf) for exposure assessment, though counts of fibers (fibers per cubic centimeter of inhaled air, longer than 5 µm with aspect ratio greater than 3:1 f/cm3) are more toxicologically relevant. Objective To develop an empirical model that predicts exposure to fibers as a function of dust levels and workplace in chrysotile asbestos mining operations in Quebec. The model is intended to be used in re-analysis of epidemiologic data that accounts for measurement error in exposure. Methods We obtained a copy of 623 individual parallel measurements of dust and fibers collected in Quebec in the 1970s and their contextual information. We fitted mixed-effects linear models that predict fiber concentrations as a function of the counts of dust particles, with random effect of sampling site. To evaluate the general model performance, we conducted a 10-fold cross-validation. Results Fiber concentrations ranged from 0.06 to 307 f/cm3. Dust counts ranged from 0.04 to 9.12 mpcf. The average fiber-to-dust ratio of (f/cm3)/mpcf) was 12 (SD 16, median 7), ranging from 0.07 to 227. We estimated a positive association between logarithms of fiber and dust counts, which is not materially affected by adjustment for workplaces. The model with the logarithms of dust levels per se explained 24% of between-site variance and 12% of within-site variance in the logarithms of fiber concentrations. The average cross-validated R 2 was 68%. Discussion We confirmed observations that the ratio of fibers to dust counts of chrysotile asbestos is not constant but depends on a variety of work characteristics, including the number of dust particles. Our results are consistent with similar analyses conducted by others. However, we could not access all side-by-side impinger and fiber measurements that existed based on published reports, and available measurements do not cover all the times and workplaces where members of the cohort of Quebec millers and miners were exposed to chrysotile. Our models of exposure to fibers have a general form that adheres to multiplicative Berkson-type error. We cannot rule out the dependence of this error on risk of health outcomes. Conclusion We conclude that it is possible to calibrate impinger counts of dust to the fiber concentrations in the air for chrysotile asbestos mined and processed in Quebec in the 1970s and quantify the associated uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Annals of Work Exposures & Health is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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  Label: Title
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  Data: Prediction of exposure to chrysotile asbestos fibers among Quebec miners and millers based on impinger measurements.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Burstyn%2C+Igor%22">Burstyn, Igor</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gustafson%2C+Paul%22">Gustafson, Paul</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Reiss%2C+Boris%22">Reiss, Boris</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Annals+of+Work+Exposures+%26+Health%22">Annals of Work Exposures & Health</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 70 Issue 4, p1-12. 12p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Asbestos+analysis%22">Asbestos analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Air+pollution%22">Air pollution</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+monitoring%22">Environmental monitoring</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prediction+models%22">Prediction models</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Aerosols%22">Aerosols</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inhalation+injuries%22">Inhalation injuries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Empirical+research%22">Empirical research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+associations%22">Professional associations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Uncertainty%22">Uncertainty</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Occupational+exposure%22">Occupational exposure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mineral+industries%22">Mineral industries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Calibration%22">Calibration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Regression+analysis%22">Regression analysis</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Québec+%28Province%29%22">Québec (Province)</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Introduction The cohort of chrysotile cohort workers from Quebec was established in the 1960s. It remains one of the most influential investigations into health risk of chrysotile asbestos. The cohort principally relies on measurements of asbestos-containing dust via impingers (as million particles per cubic foot of inhaled air, mpcf) for exposure assessment, though counts of fibers (fibers per cubic centimeter of inhaled air, longer than 5 µm with aspect ratio greater than 3:1 f/cm3) are more toxicologically relevant. Objective To develop an empirical model that predicts exposure to fibers as a function of dust levels and workplace in chrysotile asbestos mining operations in Quebec. The model is intended to be used in re-analysis of epidemiologic data that accounts for measurement error in exposure. Methods We obtained a copy of 623 individual parallel measurements of dust and fibers collected in Quebec in the 1970s and their contextual information. We fitted mixed-effects linear models that predict fiber concentrations as a function of the counts of dust particles, with random effect of sampling site. To evaluate the general model performance, we conducted a 10-fold cross-validation. Results Fiber concentrations ranged from 0.06 to 307 f/cm3. Dust counts ranged from 0.04 to 9.12 mpcf. The average fiber-to-dust ratio of (f/cm3)/mpcf) was 12 (SD 16, median 7), ranging from 0.07 to 227. We estimated a positive association between logarithms of fiber and dust counts, which is not materially affected by adjustment for workplaces. The model with the logarithms of dust levels per se explained 24% of between-site variance and 12% of within-site variance in the logarithms of fiber concentrations. The average cross-validated R 2 was 68%. Discussion We confirmed observations that the ratio of fibers to dust counts of chrysotile asbestos is not constant but depends on a variety of work characteristics, including the number of dust particles. Our results are consistent with similar analyses conducted by others. However, we could not access all side-by-side impinger and fiber measurements that existed based on published reports, and available measurements do not cover all the times and workplaces where members of the cohort of Quebec millers and miners were exposed to chrysotile. Our models of exposure to fibers have a general form that adheres to multiplicative Berkson-type error. We cannot rule out the dependence of this error on risk of health outcomes. Conclusion We conclude that it is possible to calibrate impinger counts of dust to the fiber concentrations in the air for chrysotile asbestos mined and processed in Quebec in the 1970s and quantify the associated uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Annals of Work Exposures & Health is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1093/annweh/wxag036
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Asbestos analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Air pollution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Environmental monitoring
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Prediction models
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Aerosols
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Inhalation injuries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Empirical research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professional associations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Uncertainty
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Occupational exposure
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mineral industries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis software
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Calibration
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Regression analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Québec (Province)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Prediction of exposure to chrysotile asbestos fibers among Quebec miners and millers based on impinger measurements.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Burstyn, Igor
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            NameFull: Gustafson, Paul
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            NameFull: Reiss, Boris
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 70
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