Analytical Electron Microscopy for Occupational Health and Environmental Science

Its contribution to the study of biological effects of fibrous minerals

Abstract

There are many recognized diseases arising from the inhalation and retention of dust particles in the lungs. Asbestos has been well known as an carcinogenic silicate fiber, and nowadays much attention is paid to Stanton and Pott's suggestion that mineral fibers other than asbestos might be also the cause of mesotheliomas. The aim of mineralogical study of lung dust is to provide a more accurate information on the patient's exposure to such hazardous dust. The history of such mineralogical study is closely linked to the development of analytical techiniques, and the application of analytical electron microscopy in this field has made a great contribution for the proof of carcinogenesity of asbestos.
This aricle reviewed the mineralogical study on the diseases related to asbestos exposure and introduced the author's some studies on the evaluation of the exposure to asbestos and other dust particles, which can be correlated with the progression of the patient's diseases involved in asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other lung diseases, by means of anlytical electron microscopy as well as the improvement of some tissue preparation methods.