A shipyard worker with asbestos exposure shows left calcified pleural plaques on chest radiograph. Which statement is true?

• A. Left calcified pleural plaques
• B. Left calcified hilar lymph nodes
• C. Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage
• D. Pleural effusion

Answer: (A)

Calcified pleural plaques are a classic radiographic marker of prior asbestos exposure. They form in the pleura, often along the diaphragmatic surface or lateral chest wall, and may be unilateral or bilateral. Their presence indicates past exposure and helps confirm risk for asbestos-related diseases, but they are not malignant themselves and don’t typically cause symptoms. The other listed findings are not the characteristic sign of asbestos exposure: calcified hilar lymph nodes are more suggestive of other conditions such as silicosis with egg-shell calcifications; diffuse alveolar hemorrhage is a different process; pleural effusion can occur with asbestos but the specific hallmark radiographic feature described is the calcified pleural plaques.