Limitations of the Report on Asbestos Home Contamination

The health information available for the report, which includes incidents of illness and home contamination obtained from public agencies and published literature, does not provide a basis for estimating the prevalence of this public health problem.

The Workers' Family Protection Act requires NIOSH to evaluate relevant information about indoor air quality as it relates to workers' home contamination and to study the special circumstances of firefighters as they relate to contamination of their homes.

The only report found on indoor air quality applicable to workers' family protection involved tetrachloroethylene exposures in living quarters located in the same building as dry-cleaning establishments. Indoor air quality studies would be useful to protect family members in cottage industries.

Incidents of contamination of firefighters' homes were not identified. However, NIOSH has conducted several studies of contamination and decontamination of protective clothing used by firefighters. These studies are reviewed in this report and NIOSH will continue to pursue the issues related to potential contamination of firefighters' homes.

Other limitations of the report include:

Little research has documented the frequency and distribution of health effects among the families of workers in various industries and occupations. NIOSH is undertaking one study addressing lead exposure among families of bridge repair workers. Lead and pesticides are the only contaminants for which monitoring or reporting programs help to identify and prevent cases of poisoning from workers' home contamination.

Despite various case reports, the prevalence of health effects from workers' home contamination is not known because there are no surveillance systems in place for tracking or monitoring such health conditions.

Many diseases have long latency periods between exposure and manifestation of the disease, making identification and intervention difficult.

The workplace origin of many common diseases that occur in workers' families (such as asthma, dermatitis, and infectious diseases) is probably unrecognized because physicians and other health professionals fail to inquire about the occupation of family members and to consider whether these diseases are work-related.

The literature reviewed in this report contained only nominal information about contamination levels in workers' homes. Most measurements were of surface dust, for which there are no guidelines for acceptable levels of contamination.