Comparisons of the biological effects of mineral fibre samples using in vitro and in vivo assay systems.

At the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh, we have studied the in vitro effects of a series of mineral fibre samples using three different permanent cell lines. The results of this work have been summarised in the companion paper by Gormley et al.. Relatively consistent grading of the dusts was obtained by the different test systems with preparations of chrysotile asbestos consistently being found to be more active than varieties of amphibole or other mineral fibres. In addition there was an overall relationship between toxicity and fibre length. Most of the dust preparations used in these in vitro studies have also been tested in rats using either long term dust inhalation or intraperitoneal injection (Davis et al. 1978, 1980, 1984; Bolton et al. 1982). This paper reports how the results of the animal studies compare with the in vitro work.