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A Clinical Guide to Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases pp 153–169Cite as

Unanswered Questions Regarding Asbestos Exposure: Concerns for the Next Generation

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Abstract

Despite the numerous manuscripts published on the respiratory health effects of asbestos over the past 50 years, there are a number of clinically relevant issues that remain unresolved. In this report, the author addresses aspects of pleural disease, interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, and mesothelioma attributable to asbestos exposures and attempts to present reasonable evidence for his conclusions. In general, the worldwide use of asbestos has lessened over time and one is buoyed by the number of countries that have “banned” asbestos. Yet, this is not clearly the case in all countries. This worldwide initiative to “ban” asbestos leads one to be optimistic that the burden of illness that we recognize at present and which is the result of exposures of past generations will be lessened in the next generations.

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The view(s) expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of Brooke Army Medical Center, the US Army Medical Department, the US Army Office of the Surgeon General, the Department of the Army, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the Department of Defense or the US Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, USA

    Daniel E. Banks (Professor)

  2. Department of Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center, 3851 Roger Brooke Drive, Fort Sam Houston, TX, 78234, USA

    Daniel E. Banks (Professor)

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  1. Daniel E. Banks
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Correspondence to Daniel E. Banks .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and, Critical Care Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, 330 Trent Drive, Hanes House, Rm 105-B, Durham, 27705, North Carolina, USA

    Yuh-Chin T. Huang

  2. , Human Studies Facility, Environmental Public Health Division, 104 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, 27711, North Carolina, USA

    Andrew J. Ghio

  3. Department of Medicine, Division of Environmental and, National Jewish Health, 1400 Jackson, Denver, 80206, Colorado, USA

    Lisa A. Maier

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Banks, D.E. (2012). Unanswered Questions Regarding Asbestos Exposure: Concerns for the Next Generation. In: Huang, YC., Ghio, A., Maier, L. (eds) A Clinical Guide to Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases. Respiratory Medicine. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-149-3_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-149-3_8

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