Journal Top Ten - Columns-Asbestos - September 2003

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1 TITLE: "An Evaluation of the Historical Exposures of Mechanics to Asbestos in Brake Dust"

SUMMARY: An analysis of 30 years of data collected during brake servicing to determine the amount of asbestos exposure a mechanic experiences during the repair process. Nearly 200 brake job and 8-hour time weighted average personal samples were collected for analysis. The study concluded that, worldwide, the exposures were consistently below contemporaneous occupational health standards in the United States and that the increased use of brake-dust control measures in some garages resulted in at least a 10-fold decrease in …