Asbestos misinformation
A Systematic Policy of Misinformation on the Toxicity of Asbestos: Lobbying
Occupational medicine: Research, Teaching, ethics, clinical practise/expert opinion
Xaver Baur, MD, has devoted much of his academic career to broad questions of occupational and environmental medicine.
His career research contributions have been mainly in the areas of lung function measurements, allergic disorders, including occupational asthma, hazardous exposures to inorganic dust, allergens, pollution, chemicals such as isocyanates. In focusing on research and policy he has been addressing questions of relevance to public health and ethics in occupational and environmental health. Xaver Baur has being consulted from around the world as an independent expert witness and speaker. He is president of the charity European Society for Environmental and Occupational Medicine which fosters independent research in occupational, public and environmental health, open EOM Website
Alles Fake? Wissenschaft im Zeitalter der vielen Wahrheiten
Most interesting presentations at the 7. BfR-Stakeholderkonferenz on15. November 2018 (German). Topic: „Fake news“ - which increasingly meets science
Occupational health: a world of false promises
United Nations agencies, WHO and the International Labor Organization (ILO), are faced with the global problem of inadequate worker protections and a growing crisis in occupational health
By Joseph LaDou, Leslie London and Andrew Watterson:
“The United Nations currently has limited ability to take on the problems of a globalized world and has limited capacity to affect major issues within member states. But it can have a useful influence in facilitating stronger oversight by broader civil society. It can do this by strengthening the national and global civil society voice in WHO and ILO structures, and by keeping conflict of interest out of policy decisions. Corporate influence on international organisations is not a new problem. It goes on in all member states and is evidenced in the neglect of occupational health and safety, and the weakness of workers’ compensation laws, in all developing countries.
UN agencies should develop stronger and unambiguous processes to manage conflict of interest in ways that equalize the influence of powerful interests with those of communities, Non-Governmental Organizations, Civil Society Organizations and Social Movements. More support should be given to protect the WHO from industry attacks and to help it increase its supply of information on occupational health and safety to developing countries, free of industry influence.”
On the other hand, the authors suggest that “the staff assigned to WHO and ILO agencies responsible for occupational health and safety should have appropriate credentials and backgrounds. The selection
process is currently removed from public view, and not subject to approval by relevant international authorities.
There is no current method of finding conflicts of interest in staff assignments. An international organization with no industry bias exists in the Collegium Ramazzini, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The Collegium should be considered as an independent approval authority for WHO and ILO staff positions, and for technical review of publications“.
in: https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-018-0422-x
Malignant mesothelioma in females: the institutional failure by WHO and IARC to protect the public health
Malignant mesothelioma in females: the institutional failure by WHO and IARC to protect the public health
A Commentary, published in The Journal of Scientific Practice and Integrity (JoSPI) on August 11,
2023, calls to task both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for
Research on Cancer (IARC). It shines a light on their failure to recognize and correct the
misrepresentation of malignant mesothelioma (MM) risk in females exposed to asbestos in Chapters
2 of the Fourth and Fifth Editions of the Blue Book series published in 2015 and 2021, respectively.
The title of the Commentary is “Malignant mesothelioma in females: the institutional failure by
WHO and IARC to protect the public health.” The authors are Xaver Baur, Arthur L. Frank, Corrado
Magnani, L. Christine Oliver, and Colin L. Soskolne. The article is accessible at the following link:
https://doi.org/10.35122/001c.75390. A PDF copy is also attached for ease of access.
The inaccurate statements about the proportion of malignant mesotheliomas attributable to
asbestos in females are as follows: “only about 20%” in North America and France and “<50%” in
western Europe and Australia (Fourth Edition); and “only 20-40%” in the USA and France (Fifth
Edition). That these figures misrepresent the science was shown in a previously published
Commentary by the authors of this more recent Commentary (Bauer X et al. Am J Ind Med. 2021) at
https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.23257.
Males and females are at close-to-equal risk for malignant mesothelioma following exposure to
asbestos. What is different is the way in which the exposure had occurred. For males, it is more likely
to have been occupational. For females, asbestos exposure is more likely to have occurred through
household contact or environmental exposures. Carefully detailed exposure histories are needed to
ferret out a history of asbestos exposure and to place physicians and patients on notice about
associated risk for the occurrence of malignant mesothelioma, an aggressive highly fatal and often
misdiagnosed (early on) tumour. Ironically, the Blue Book series has pulmonary physicians,
oncologists, thoracic radiologists, epidemiologists, and cancer registrars as an important audience.
The authors of the most recent Commentary attempted to correct the record by communicating
directly with the authors of the two Chapters as well as the editors of the Fourth and Fifth Editions
of the WHO Classification of Tumours. A corrigendum was requested. In the absence of an
acceptable response, we approached the IARC Editorial Board. Failing to achieve a satisfactory
outcome, we bring our failed attempts and the potential consequences to public attention.
In our efforts to correct the inaccuracies, we discovered what can be described only as gender bias in
the attribution of malignant mesothelioma in females. Identified as a likely contributing factor were
undisclosed conflicting interests. The victims here are at-risk females, their families, and the public
writ large.
Protecting the public’s health, preventing disease, and promoting well-being in a social justice
context must be the unambiguous goal of education and research in occupational and
environmental health. Even our most august institutions should be open to correction.
DIRECT ANY QUESTIONS TO THE SENIOR AUTHOR, Xaver Baur, at: mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Diagnostic limitations of lung fiber counts in asbestos-related diseases
Aerotoxic syndrome after fume events
Health consequences of exposure to aircraft contaminated air and fume events: a narrative review and medical protocol for the investigation of exposed aircrew and passengers
by Burdon J, Budnik LT, Baur X, et al. Health consequences of exposure to aircraft contaminated air and fume events: a narrative review and medical protocol for the investigation of exposed aircrew and passengers. Environmental Health. 2023;22(1):22-43.
Thermally degraded engine oil and hydraulic fluid fumes contaminating aircraft cabin air conditioning systems have been well documented since the 1950s. Whilst organophosphates have been the main subject of interest, oil and hydraulic fumes in the air supply also contain ultrafine particles, numerous volatile organic hydrocarbons and thermally degraded products. We review the literature on the effects of fume events on aircrew health. Inhalation of these potentially toxic fumes is increasingly recognised to cause acute and long-term neurological, respiratory, cardiological and other symptoms. Cumulative exposure to regular small doses of toxic fumes is potentially damaging to health and may be exacerbated by a single higher-level exposure. Assessment is complex because of the limitations of considering the toxicity of individual substances in complex heated mixtures.
https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-023-00987-8
There is a need for a systematic and consistent approach to diagnosis and treatment of persons who have been exposed to toxic fumes in aircraft cabins. The medical protocol presented in this paper has been written by internationally recognised experts and presents a consensus approach to the recognition, investigation and management of persons suffering from the toxic effects of inhaling thermally degraded engine oil and other fluids contaminating the air conditioning systems in aircraft, and includes actions and investigations for in-flight, immediately post-flight and late subsequent follow up.