"Clouds of dust were falling on us at every blow of the truncheon, but at that time we knew nothing about asbestos," recalled Jesús Ropero Calcerrada, a 73-year-old man who was tasked with scraping asbestos from railway carriages during his working life in Beasáin, in the Basque country in Spain. He and others were not offered any protection from … [Read more...]
Malignant Mesothelioma Mortality in Women — United States, 1999–2020
Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause malignant mesothelioma, a rapidly progressing and lethal cancer of the mesothelium, the thin layer of tissues surrounding internal organs in the chest and abdomen. Patients with malignant mesothelioma have a poor prognosis, with a median survival of 1 year from diagnosis. The estimated median interval from … [Read more...]
CDC: Mesothelioma Deaths Up Among Women
While use of asbestos has gone down in the U.S., deaths from mesothelioma still increased 25% among women over the last two decades, researchers found. From 1999 to 2020, mesothelioma deaths among women rose significantly from 489 to 614, though the age-adjusted death rate per 1 million women fell from 4.83 to 4.15, reported Jacek Mazurek, MD, … [Read more...]
EPA rule would finally ban asbestos, carcinogen still in use
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed a rule to finally ban asbestos, a carcinogen that is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products and kills thousands of Americans every year. The proposal marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled rules governing tens of … [Read more...]
Health groups sue to make EPA evaluate ‘legacy’ asbestos risk
Health and environmental groups have sued the Environmental Protection Agency, seeking a court order compelling it to evaluate the risks posed by so-called "legacy" asbestos used in old products and buildings. In a complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco, groups including the nonprofit Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization … [Read more...]
Why Asbestos Still Threatens Construction Workers’ Health
Asbestos continues to represent a considerable threat to the health of construction workers and the population at large. Though some applications for asbestos have been banned in the United States, the naturally occurring silicate mineral itself is not. The first use of asbestos is believed to date back to the Stone Age, approximately 750,000 … [Read more...]
Incidence of mesothelioma and asbestosis by occupation in a diverse workforce
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...]
NIOSH considers mesothelioma registry; seeks input
The [ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ] is gauging the feasibility of a national [ mesothelioma registry ] intended to track cases of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer linked to on-the-job exposure to asbestos. According to a Request for Information published in the April 8 Federal Register, the agency is asking … [Read more...]
It’s time for the EPA to ban asbestos once and for all
Nearly 40,000 Americans die from preventable asbestos-caused diseases every year, yet the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) still hasn’t banned this toxic substance. Asbestos was once marketed as a “miracle mineral” for its flame-resistance, strength and flexibility to use in construction, but has since been revealed for what it truly is: a … [Read more...]
Data on mesothelioma mortality: a powerful tool for preventing asbestos-related disease
Asbestos is a disaster. It has been responsible for over 200?000 deaths in the USA, for 400,000 deaths in Europe and continues today to cause an estimated 180,000 deaths each year worldwide. Asbestos is a known cause of cancer, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers all forms of asbestos—including chrysotile, the form in … [Read more...]