Static Occupational Exposure to Chrysotile Asbestos Fibre in Chrysotile Asbestos Cement Factories in Zimbabwe

Chrysotile asbestos has been and continue to be widely used in Zimbabwe in the manufacturing of asbestos cement products that include asbestos-cement roofing sheets and facia boards. Static exposure monitoring to chrysotile asbestos fibre has been ongoing since the 1990s in the two main chrysotile cement factories. The study assessed changes in static exposure chrysotile asbestos fibre levels over a 25 year period from 1996 to 2019. About 6677 static chrysotile fibre data was used to evaluate changes and extent of exposure to chrysotile asbestos fibre in the two chrysotile asbestos factories. Exposure changes were characterized according to calendar year and time period. Static exposure chrysotile asbestos fibre levels showed a decline over the period 1996 to 2019, with Harare showing an overall decrease of about 82.4% in exposure levels (0.17 f/ml in 1996 to 0.03 f/ml in 2019) while in the Bulawayo factory exposure declined by about 47%, moving from 0.17 f/ml in 1996 to about 0.09 f/ml in 2019. Both factories generally exhibited static overexposure before 2008. The decline in static exposure levels over time suggests improved occupational safety and health practices by the factories over the years. The data generated from this study can further compliment personal exposure data in giving detailed chrysotile asbestos exposure profile across key manufacturing factories in Zimbabwe. Data of this nature can also be used in future epidemiology studies and can aid in possible asbestos related diseases compensation cases.