C&IH Study Reveals How Particle Size Influences Lung Retention of Elongate Mineral Particles

A new peer-reviewed article co-authored by C&IH scientists advances understanding of how the size (length and width) of elongate mineral particles affects their retention in the human lung and the implications for occupational-exposure risk assessment. The study, “Size-dependent retention of elongate mineral particles in human lungs: modeling and implications for risk assessment,” was published in Frontiers in Public Health (2025) by Dr. Andrey Korchevskiy of C&IH, Dr. Richard Attanoos of the University Hospital of Wales & School of Medicine, and Dr. Ann Wylie of the University of Maryland and C&IH.

The research revisited historical lung-burden data for amphibole fibers (amosite and crocidolite) and compared those distributions with airborne exposure data. Using a newly defined metric – the Deposition Selection Ratio (DSR) – the authors showed that longer and thinner elongate particles are more likely to deposit and persist in lung tissue, whereas shorter, thicker particles are less likely (i.e., deselected).

Notably, the study found that non-asbestiform or cleavage fragments exhibited DSR values well below 0.5, indicating marked deselection during lung deposition. It also demonstrated that theoretical predictions of deposition using the MPPD Model diverged from observed deposition patterns, suggesting existing models may need refinement for elongate mineral particles.

The authors further illustrated how DSR in combination with known biopersistence data for various fiber types can serve as a quantitative predictor of mesothelioma potency across different mineral classes.

Read the full article in Frontiers in Public Health

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C&IH Study Reveals How Particle Size Influences Lung Retention of Elongate Mineral Particles

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