Dose-response for Pleural Plaques Stemming from Asbestos Exposure

The relation between dose and response for pleural plaques is much weaker than that for parenchymal asbestosis.

A good correlation between pleural plaques and asbestos fibers in the lung has been shown by many researchers.

The mean of asbestos fibers or bodies in persons with plaques is as a rule higher than in the normal population, but there is a fairly large variation and a number of persons with plaques will have values little or no different from the general population.

In other words, plaques are associated with a wide range of asbestos burdens which overlaps with that of the control population.