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The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 119 Somchai Bovornkitti cause. (21,22) The report was rejected as not being the case of asbestos-induced mesothelioma but likely of undetermined etiology. (23) Subsequent reports (24,25) added further 16 cases of mesothelioma aged between 10 and 80 years showing variety of afflictions, i.e., the pleura and peritoneum. At the time of writing, altogether 57 cases of mesothelioma were verified which showed no relation with asbestos exposure. (26) Asbestos Studies in Thailand Detection of Asbestos fibers in the lungs (27,28) Consequent to the use of asbestos in the country, it was deemed that there was a likely chance of the population at large inhaling the asbestos dusts in the same way as occurring directly in factory workers. We have studied the lungs in 330 autopsies (173 men and 157 women, ranging in age from one day to 92 years), using Smith-Naylorûs melting method, (29) during the years 1980-1982. The overall positive results were 33 per cent; 34.1 percent in males and 31.8 per cent in females; the youngest was a 5-month-old girl . As regards the number of asbestos bodies in five grams of lung tissue: 90.9 percent of the subjects had 1-10 bodies; only 1.8 percent had numbers higher than 30; the highest number was 142 bodies. The prevalence of positive findings was not related to the increasing ages of the subjects. Occupational and residential histories were not contributory. Figure 6. Asbestos bodies in the autopsy lungs 113-125_mac9 5/3/12, 11:19 PM 119