TY - JOUR T1 - The legacy of the asbestos-cement plant of Lubudi, DR Congo JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J DO - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2021.PA3362 VL - 58 IS - suppl 65 SP - PA3362 AU - Fabian Mukonki Kyungu AU - Joseph PYANA KITENGE AU - Tony Kayembe-Kitenge AU - Abdon Mukalay Wa Mukalay AU - Benoit Nemery Y1 - 2021/09/05 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/58/suppl_65/PA3362.abstract N2 - Background: Little is known about the health impact of the industrial use of asbestos in Africa. In Lubudi, in DR Congo’s former Katanga province, a cement factory produced 30 million tons of asbestos-cement materials from 1929 to 1977.Methods: Former workers from the cement factory were invited (in 2018-2019) for a detailed occupational history, clinical examination, sputum collection (to assess asbestos bodies), and chest x-ray. Buildings with asbestos-cement roofs were enumerated.Results: Of 34 included men (mean 66 y; SD 9 y) 11 had worked in the manufacture of asbestos-cement. Many had respiratory complaints [dyspnea (n=9), chest pain (n=13)], two had crepitations, but typical signs of asbestos-related pleuropulmonary disease were not found on x-rays. A terminally ill man had a clinical picture compatible with pleural mesothelioma. Ferruginous bodies (Perl’s staining) were detected in 8/25 sputum smears (vs 0/15 smears from industrial workers recruited elsewhere). Three asbestos waste sites and 1320 houses with roofs made of asbestos-cement corrugated sheets were counted in the city. Independently of the present study, a 59 y-old man whose father had worked in the Lubudi cement factory, died in 2019 from a malignant pleural mesothelioma confirmed by immunohistochemistry.Conclusion: The true health impact of the asbestos-cement plant in Lubudi will probably remain unknown but more cases of malignant mesothelioma will likely occur, not only among its former workers but also due to the widespread presence of (damaged) asbestos-cement materials in the area and in many mining compoundsFootnotesCite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2021; 58: Suppl. 65, PA3362.This abstract was presented at the 2021 ERS International Congress, in session “Prediction of exacerbations in patients with COPD”.This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only). ER -