The most prominent potential marker of disease-related non-occupational exposure to
mineral fibres is
mesothelioma. Although many cases of
mesothelioma have resulted from occupational exposure to
asbestos, some have been associated with para-occupational domestic and/or neighbourhood exposure and have been reported in case series, case-control studies and a cohort study among non-occupationally exposed subjects. However, little information is available on
mesothelioma as a direct consequence of general environmental
asbestos exposure. Such cases of
mesothelioma related to non-occupational exposure to
asbestos as have occurred to date are likely to have resulted from past exposures much higher than those prevailing at the present time (in the developed countries); numbers will therefore probably decrease in the future. Very high rates of
mesothelioma have been reported as a result of exposure to
erionite. No studies are available on the effects of non-occupational exposure to man-made
mineral fibres but, among occupationally exposed workers, a risk of
mesothelioma is not apparent. There are suggestions of raised
lung cancer rates among household contacts of
asbestos workers and among individuals exposed to
erionite. Non-malignant parenchymal and pleural abnormalities have been observed in subjects exposed non-occupationally to
asbestos and
erionite, but these are not necessarily associated with malignant lesions. Quantitative risk estimates of adverse effects on health have not been derived from these studies, essentially because of the absence of fibre exposure measurements.