Assessment of exposure to asbestos

The aim of the study is to present the principles of assassins asbestos exp osure in tow different contexts; that of a patient suffering from pleuropul monary pathology that could be attributed to asbestos and that of a group p ossibly exposed to asbestos. In the first case this evaluation concerns pst exposure and depends typically on information obtained during the coarse o f an interview with the patient. In the second case, the exposure is assess ed by atomospheric analysis. Jobs in which occupational exposure to asbestos occurs should be examined, the tasks which entail this exposure and objects containing asbestos are di scussed in the first part of the article. The accent is placed on the sourc e of exposure, and the use of materials containing asbestos outside the asb estos industry. Some guidelines enabling the appreciation of the intensity of asbestos exposure as a function of the jobs involved and rite objects ha ndled are suggested. Regulations and the principle of quantifying asbestos in the atmosphere during direct exposure in the working environment on the one hand and during the course of passive exposure in the environment on th e other are discussed in the second part of the article.