Familial and Environmental Asbestos Exposure Raise Mesothelioma Risk in Women
| | | |

Familial and Environmental Asbestos Exposure Raise Mesothelioma Risk in Women

ByAlex Strauss

Italian researchers say women who live around an asbestos plant or with one of its workers may be at special risk for mesothelioma from the combination of familial and environmental asbestos exposure.  The research appears in a new issue of the Annals of Work Exposures and Health.  Scientists have long known about the link between asbestos on worker’s clothes and mesothelioma among the women who wash those clothes.  But the new report shows that some of these women face an even greater cumulative risk because of environmental asbestos exposure. Bringing the Mesothelioma Risk Home Traditionally, most jobs with the potential for asbestos exposure have been in male-dominated industries. These include industries like construction, shipbuilding, plumbing, electrical work, and asbestos mining…

Childhood Environmental Asbestos Exposure and Malignant Mesothelioma
| | |

Childhood Environmental Asbestos Exposure and Malignant Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Environmental asbestos exposure in childhood can dramatically raise the risk for malignant mesothelioma later in life. That is the finding of new mesothelioma research conducted in Denmark. The study appears in the newest issue of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. It included more than 12,000 people who attended school near an asbestos cement plant during a 30-year period. Researchers discovered that kids educated near the plant were much more likely to receive a mesothelioma diagnosis as adults. Environmental Asbestos Exposure in Danish Children Asbestos was once thought to be an ideal component of building products such as insulation, roof tiles, and cement. It has high tensile strength, is impervious to heat and flame, and is and highly resistant to corrosion. On…

Mesothelioma Risk from Aging Asbestos Water Pipes
| |

Mesothelioma Risk from Aging Asbestos Water Pipes

ByAlex Strauss

As pipes containing asbestos break down over time and need repair, there is concern that improper handling could release the toxic fibers into the environment, posing a mesothelioma risk for workers and residents. It is even possible for asbestos to wind up in drinking water. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of internal membranes caused by either inhaling or ingesting fibers of asbestos. Although some asbestos occurs naturally in the environment, most people who contract mesothelioma are exposed to asbestos in products that were made from it. One of those products is asbestos cement, a strong and corrosion-resistant mixture that was used for decades in the U.S. and around the world to make a wide range of products, including water pipes….