Relative source contributions of diet and air to ingested asbestos exposure.

Reliable assessments of the relative contributions of diet (food, beverages, and orally administered drugs) and air (inhaled fibers) to total ingested asbestos exposure are not feasible due to the paucity of quantitative data on the subject. Instead, scenarios for both modes of exposure were developed from the limited information available to give crude estimates of ingestion of asbestos from these routes. They suggest that such sources are potentially significant relative to the contribution of asbestos exposure derived from drinking water. Research recommendations are discussed.