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Mesothelioma and Exposure to Asbestos in South Africa

Officially, even in 1962, there was not sufficient evidence to implicate crocidolite as a major factor in the development of mesotheliomas. It was puzzling that unlike other industrial hazards, even the environmental exposure could be extremely short, in some cases only a few months. Then there was a long latent period, as with exposure to radioactive substances, but there was no evidence of radioactivity in this situation.

The majority of patients with mesothelioma had worked or lived in the north-west Cape, but a few people, working elsewhere with the Cape blue, had also developed the tumour. Experimental work with rats given various types of dust had produced a few pleural tumours, but most of the animals had died too early from rat bronchiectasis. Further evidence was required that this was an occupational hazard, and most worrying of all was the evidence of environmental exposure, which differed so much from carcinoma in asbestos workers. The answer was to undertake an investi- gation in Britain, a country with a major crocidolite industry.

If positive evidence was obtained it would be important to compare these findings with the situation in Canada, a major producer of chrysotile. Further work with suitable animals was also essential.
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