Erionite bodies and fibres in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of residents from Tuzkoy, Cappadocia, Turkey

Objectives-The high incidence of malignant mesothelioma in some villages of Cappadocia (Turkey) is due to environmental exposure to erionite fibres. T he aim was to evaluate the fibre burden in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BA LF) from inhabitants of an erionite village and compare it with Turkish sub jects with or without environmental exposure to tremolite asbestos. Methods-Ferruginous bodies (FBs) and fibres were measured and analyzed by l ight and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in the BALF of 16 subjects originating from Tuzkoy. Results-FBs were detected in the BALF of 12 subjects, with concentrations a bove 1 FB/ml in seven of them. Erionite was the central fibre of 95.7% of F Bs. Erionite fibres were found in the BALF of all subjects, by TEM, and the se fibres were low in Mg, K, and Ca compared with erionite from Tuzkoy soil . The mean concentration of erionite fibres in BALF was similar to that of tremolite fibres in Turks with environmental exposure to tremolite. The pro portion of fibres longer than 8 mum in BALF represented 35.6% for erionite compared with 14.0% for tremolite. The asbestos fibre concentrations in eri onite villagers was not different from that in Turks without environmental exposure to tremolite. Conclusion-Analysis of BALF gives information about fibre retention in popu lations environmentally exposed to erionite for whom data on fibre burden f rom lung tissue samples are scarce. This may apply to exposed Turks having emigrated to other countries.