Radiographic Changes in Colombian Asbestos Factory Workers.

Source: PubMed, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

Until recently, Colombia has been a country actively using asbestos. A major factory in Bogota manufactures friction products. To determine if the use of chrysotile asbestos in a friction products facility leads to workers developing disease. One hundred forty-eight factory workers, former workers, or retirees volunteered for X-ray and pulmonary function testing after informed consent. X-rays were read by two readers who needed to agree on positive findings. Nineteen of the 148 X-rays had changes consistent with the known prior exposure to asbestos, mostly parenchymal in nature. Pulmonary function was not altered in most of the studied population. Asbestos disease is clearly present among Colombian asbestos factory workers, as is seen in other exposed populations around the world.