Objective: We sought to characterize detailed patterns of mesothelioma and asbestosis incidence in the workforce as part of an occupational disease surveillance program in Ontario, Canada. Methods: The Occupational Disease Surveillance System (ODSS) cohort was established using workers' compensation claims data and includes 2.18 million workers … [Read more...]
Survival of patients with asbestosis can be assessed by risk-predicting models
Objectives: Our aim was to investigate the pulmonary function test (PFT) results of patients with asbestosis and determine whether baseline PFTs and the risk-predicting models such as gender, age and physiologic (GAP) variables model and composite physiologic index (CPI) would be useful in predicting survival in these patients. Methods: … [Read more...]
Asbestos inhalation poses cancer risks to workers and consumers
The processing and use of asbestos-containing diaphragms by the chlor-alkali industry poses an unreasonable risk to the health of workers, the US Environmental Protection Agency concludes in a draft risk evaluation. The assessment, released March 30, also finds unreasonable risks to workers and consumers who process or use asbestos-containing sheet … [Read more...]
EPA finds asbestos poses cancer risks for workers, reigniting calls for ban
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that [ asbestos dust ] poses an unreasonable risk of [ lung cancer and mesothelioma ] to both workers and consumers who inhale it, ramping up pressure on the agency to ban the substance. In a draft risk assessment published this week, the EPA said that workers who inhale [ asbestos dust ] … [Read more...]
Montana Supreme Court: BNSF Not Shielded from Liability in Libby Asbestos Cases
In a unanimous decision, the Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday determined that BNSF Railway Company is not shielded from liability for its role in spreading [ asbestos dust ] in the Northwest Montana town of Libby, where hundreds of people have died and thousands more are sick due to exposure. Facing hundreds of asbestos-related damage claims … [Read more...]
A Most Reckless Proposal — A Plan to Continue Asbestos Use in the United States
Each year, nearly 40,000 Americans die often painful, protracted deaths from diseases caused by asbestos. These deaths occur in firefighters, police officers, construction workers, miners, military veterans, shipyard workers, and maintenance workers whose exposures to asbestos are primarily occupational. Death also occurs in partners and children … [Read more...]