Sheep lymph-nodes as a biological indicator of environmental exposure to fluoro-edenite.

Authors: Ledda C, Loreto C, Pomara C, Rapisarda G, Fiore M, Ferrante M, Bracci M, Santarelli L, Fenga C, Rapisarda V Abstract A significantly increased incidence of pleural mesothelioma in Biancavilla (Sicily, Italy) has been attributed to exposure to fluoro-edenite (FE), a fibrous amphibole extracted from a local stone quarry. The lymph-nodes draining the pulmonary lobes of sheep grazing around the town were examined, to gain insights into fibre diffusion. The pasture areas of six sheep flocks lying about 3km from Biancavilla were located using the global positioning system. The cranial tracheobronchial and one middle mediastinal lymph-node as well as four lung tissue samples were collected from 10 animals from each flock and from 10 control sheep for light and scanning electron m...

from MedWorm: Mesothelioma http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=165329037&cid=c_409_55_f&fid=35535&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fpubmed%2F26855127%3Fdopt%3DAbstract