DEPOSITION AND RETENTION OF FIBRES IN THE HUMAN LUNG

Abstract Measurements of distributions by diameter and length have been made with the transmission electron microscope on fibres recovered from lung specimens related to the Paakkila anthophyllite mine. These distributions have been compared with distributions obtained from samples of airborne dust taken at the mine in order to construct graphs showing how the magnitude of retention in the lungs depended on fibre diameter and length. The results indicate that clearance is related to fibre length and are consistent with impairment of clearance in fibrotic parts of the lung.