OCCURRENCE OF PLEURAL PLAQUES IN WORKERS WITH EXPOSURE TO MINERAL WOOL

The objective of this study was to investigate whether occurrence of p leural plaques is associated with exposure to mineral wool. The occurr ence of pleural plaques on routine chest radiographs of 933 persons em ployed in the mineral wool manufacturing industry and 865 referents wa s compared. Twelve men from the mineral wool industry had pleural plaq ues, as against three of the referents (P > 0.05). The occurrence of p leural plaques among men in the mineral wool industry was not associat ed with an increased exposure to mineral wool or with length of time b etween start of employment and time of chest radiograph. The results d o not support the notion that inhalation of man-made mineral fibers ca uses pleural plaques. It must, however, be conceded-keeping in mind th e limits imposed by the study size-that nor do they provide grounds fo r refutation of such a hypothesis.