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Pleural plaques/diffuse pleural thickening together with interstitial fibrosis is most characteristic of asbestos exposure. Lung biopsy in such cases shows golden-brown, beaded “ferruginous (asbestos) bodies,” the classic histopathologic hallmark of asbestosis [Kishimoto, 2014, PMID 24605531; Dodson, 2005, PMID 16282156].