บทความพิเศ ษ Special Article Asbestos and Mesothelioma in Thailand Update

Abstract Chrysotile, or white asbestos, is a fibrous silicate mineral in the serpentine group of phyllosilicates. It has been used in a number of Thai Industries for several decades. However, the material is known to be carcinogenic to humans, especially affecting the serous lining of cavitary organs, producing the rare and highly malignant tumour known as mesothelioma. Yet in almost six decades (1954-2012) there have been only 77 known mesothelioma cases in Thailand, and none of them showed pathological evidence of asbestos etiology; only two cases among them had worked in factories using asbestos. The first Thai patient was described in a pathological book in 1954 as a case of tunica vaginalis. The first reported case was published 14 years thereafter. Studies concerning asbestos in Thailand have been few, i.e., surveys for asbestos bodies in 330 randomized autopsy lungs and in BALF; determination of airborne asbestos dust in Bangkok streets during rush hours with heavy traffic; verification of asbestos contaminant in vermiculite; and durability testing of asbestos and non-asbestos cement roof tiles. Details are described in the text