| | |

Asbestos Cement Factory Still Impacting Lives in Italy

ByAlex Strauss
asbestos cement plant

Residents who worked in or lived near an asbestos cement factory in Italy are still suffering the effects of toxic pollution decades later. 

Separate studies in two environmental health journals this month highlight the ongoing problem. Both show there are more mesothelioma cases in these regions than in the rest of Italy. This is true even though Italy banned asbestos 30 years ago.

One study concentrates on people who worked in an asbestos cement factory. The other focuses on mesothelioma patients whose only exposure was through air pollution near a factory 

The Deadly Legacy of Asbestos in Broni

The Fibronit asbestos cement company operated plants in Bari and Broni, Italy. 

Broni is a town of about 9.000 people. The asbestos cement factory operated there from 1932 to 1993. Researchers combed a national mesothelioma database to find cases in and around Broni. They included plant workers, their families, and anyone who lived in the area when the plant was open.

The research team identified almost 200 extra cases of malignant mesothelioma in the area between 2000 and 2016. 

“The mesothelioma burden related to the asbestos cement factory is still high on factory workers, their families, and residents,” concludes the study in Environmental Research. The scientists recommend continuous monitoring of mesothelioma cases in the area. 

Asbestos Cement Factory Left Polluted Air in Bari

Bari is a much larger city in Southern Italy. It was home to an even bigger asbestos cement operation. 

Researchers at the University of Bari Medical School studied a cluster of mesothelioma cases in the area. These 71 cases occurred in people who had never worked around asbestos or lived with an asbestos worker. Their only exposure was through asbestos dust in the air. 

The researchers found that the risk for mesothelioma was high whether a person lived just 10 m or 1000 m from the asbestos cement factory. People with asbestos exposure longer than 21 years had just as high a mesothelioma risk as those exposed for more than 40 years.

“This study provided evidence of a continuing health impact of the Fibronit asbestos cement factory in Bari on the resident population,” concludes the report. 

A Warning for Other Cities

The current studies focus on just two regions. But their findings are relevant for people around the world. 

Many countries, including the US, mined asbestos and produced asbestos cement. These new studies show that mesothelioma risk stays high for decades after a plant closes. 

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral. Asbestos cement factories added the powdered mineral to cement to make it stronger. The process sometimes produced clouds of toxic dust. If a person inhales asbestos dust, the fibers can stay in the lungs indefinitely. Eventually, the irritation and inflammation they cause can trigger mesothelioma. 

Sources: 

Consonni, D, et al, “Impact of an asbestos cement factory on mesothelioma incidence in a community in Italy”, April 2020, Environmental Research, Epub ahead of print, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935119307650

Vimercati, L, et al, “Asbestos Air Pollution: Description of a Mesothelioma Cluster Due to Residential Exposure from an Asbestos Cement Factory”, April 12, 2020, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/8/2636

Similar Posts

  • |

    Mesothelioma Still Rising Despite Ban in Ireland

    ByAlex Strauss

    A study in Ireland confirms that it can take many years for a ban on asbestos to have a measurable impact on a country’s rates of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is the most serious of a list of diseases – including lung cancer, pleural plaques, asbestosis, and others – linked with exposure to asbestos dust. Affecting the linings around the lungs and other organs, mesothelioma is often resistant to most cancer treatments and may be fatal within a year of diagnosis. According to the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, Ireland is one of 55 countries that have enacted some type of asbestos ban. However, although Ireland banned asbestos in 2000, a new study published in Cancer Epidemiology shows that incidence of the…

  • |

    Website Aims to Protect Homeowners from Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Australia’s Cancer Council is trying to educate home renovators about their risk for mesothelioma with a new e-learning course. Australia has one of the highest per capita rates of mesothelioma in the world, largely because of several asbestos mining operations that were once located there. Although asbestos has been banned from building products in Australia since 1989, asbestos-linked diseases like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis continue to pose a serious health concern. While mesothelioma has traditionally occurred among people exposed to asbestos on the job, Australia is now bracing for another “wave” of mesothelioma victims among homeowners who encounter asbestos while doing their own renovation projects. Cancer Council Australia has launched “kNOw asbestos in your home” in an effort to…

  • |

    Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools

    ByAlex Strauss

    A recent mesothelioma diagnosis in the UK once again dramatically highlights the fact that even a small amount of asbestos can be deadly. Sixty-three-year-old school teacher Marion Potts of Brockenhurst died of mesothelioma in a Southampton hospital in June. According to an article in The Mirror, the Coroner recorded a verdict of “death from an industrial disease” after hearing evidence last week that Potts actually saw asbestos dust being released when she pinned work on the classroom walls. Most recently, Potts was head of the English department at Romsey School in Hampshire until her retirement two years ago. Mesothelioma is a growing threat among school teachers, administrators, maintenance workers, and even students in British schools. A government report released last…

  • | | |

    Mesothelioma Nurses Ready for New Cases in Australia

    ByAlex Strauss

    Australia is bracing for an expected new wave of mesothelioma cases in the next decade and the Lung Foundation of Australia is taking action now to get ready. The Foundation has paid for ten nurses from around the country to receive specialized training in helping patients and families cope with mesothelioma. The nurses, who have recently completed the training, are now equipped to lead treatment planning for these complex cancer patients and to help other nurses do the same. Pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that occurs in the lining around the lungs. It is caused by exposure to asbestos dust, a toxin that was once alarmingly prevalent in Australia where it was mined and heavily used in construction. Because…

  • | |

    Spanish Mesothelioma Deaths Likely to Continue for Decades

    ByAlex Strauss

    New research in Spain suggests that mesothelioma deaths will continue in the country until the “last surviving member” of the group of people exposed to occupational asbestos succumbs to the disease. Like many countries, Spain used asbestos heavily in the first half of the 20th century, especially in construction, where the mineral was prized for its durability, low cost, and resistance to fire and corrosion.  Asbestos was banned in Spain in 2002. Observing that more than 2.5 million metric tons of asbestos were imported into Spain from 1906 to 2002, researchers say deaths from mesothelioma have risen steadily. Between 1976 and 1980, a total of 491 Spanish people died of mesothelioma. By the 5-year period from 2006 to 2010, that…

  • |

    Study Confirms Firefighters at Elevated Risk for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    A 5-year National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study of U.S. firefighters is the first to confirm what has long been suspected: Firefighters are definitely at higher risk for malignant mesothelioma. The study examined the mortality patterns and cancer incidence (including mesothelioma) among 30,000 firefighters in three major cities. The study subjects were all career firefighters who started their careers after 1950 and were followed through 2009. In order to get a diverse sample of firefighters from across the country, the study focused on firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia. Comparing firefighters to a sampling of the general public, the study looked at 92 causes of death and 41 cancer incidence groupings, with a focus on 15…