SOLUBILITY OF ROCKWOOL FIBRES IN VIVO AND THE FORMATION OF PSEUDO-ASBESTOS BODIES

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Abstract
Sized rockwool fibres were administered to rats by intratracheal instillation to study their solubility in the lung, and also to hamsters to study the formation of pseudo-asbestos bodies. Rats were killed serially and the fibres recovered by digesting lungs with hypochlorite solution. Count median diameters (CMDs) of the recovered fibres were measured at their centres with the light microscope and, after 18 months, there was no significant change in CMD. Even after six months, however, it was apparent that fibres were becoming thinner at their ends than in the middle so that slow dissolution does occur. The formation of pseudo-asbestos bodies on rockwool fibres in the hamster lung followed a similar time course to that for anthophyllite asbestos and glass fibres.