Excess Iron Linked to Mesothelioma
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Excess Iron Linked to Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

New studies suggest that overloading the body with iron may be another way asbestos can trigger mesothelioma.  And ridding the body of that excess iron may eventually be another way to help manage this cancer. Malignant mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos, especially crocidolite and amosite asbestos, whose tiny sharp fibers contain high amounts of iron.  In recent years, medical researchers have confirmed that chronic inflammation caused by the irritation of asbestos fibers appears to be one of the triggers for mesothelioma.  But mounting evidence suggests that the iron in asbestos may also play a role in this aggressive cancer. While iron is essential for health, numerous epidemiological studies have shown it to be carcinogenic in high amounts.  To…

Faulty DNA Repair Genes May Raise Mesothelioma Risk
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Faulty DNA Repair Genes May Raise Mesothelioma Risk

ByAlex Strauss

Not everyone who is exposed to asbestos has the same risk of developing mesothelioma.  Now, new research supports the idea that some people’s genetic inability to repair DNA damage at the cellular level may raise their risk of mesothelioma. When asbestos dust is inhaled, tiny fibers can lodge in the lungs and stay there for decades, causing irritation and inflammation that have been linked to a range of illnesses, including asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma. But scientists have not been able to come up with a specific genetic explanation for why different people exposed to the same amount of asbestos dust do not contract these diseases at the same rate. Now, a group of Italian researchers believe they may have found…

Auto Mechanics Unaware of Mesothelioma Risk
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Auto Mechanics Unaware of Mesothelioma Risk

ByAlex Strauss

Thousands of the nation’s auto mechanics may be unaware that they could be at a higher than normal risk for mesothelioma because of asbestos exposure. Asbestos has been used in car manufacturing for many years because of its high heat resistance and strength.  Most commonly found in brake drums and clutches, asbestos has also been used to line the underside of car hoods and in a variety of other engine parts and gaskets. Inhalation of asbestos fibers has been shown to cause a range of health problems of which pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining around the lungs, and peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining around the abdomen, are the most serious. As part of a frequently-cited 4-month study conducted by…

Worldwide Mesothelioma Rate Higher Than Expected
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Worldwide Mesothelioma Rate Higher Than Expected

ByAlex Strauss

The global rate of the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma is probably much higher than was previously thought. A new study published in the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) environmental health sciences journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, estimates that for every four or five cases of mesothelioma worldwide, there is at least one more case that goes unreported. Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer that usually develops 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos, a mineral used for many years in a wide variety of products and applications.  The popularity of asbestos declined after it was associated with mesothelioma and other serious health problems in the 1980’s, but there is still no asbestos ban in the USA.  In addition, because it…

Attic-Stored Christmas Décor Could Pose Risk of Mesothelioma
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Attic-Stored Christmas Décor Could Pose Risk of Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Christmas decorations stored in the attic could carry a hidden health risk of mesothelioma and other asbestos caused diseases for millions of American homes. An estimated 35 million older homes are insulated with a vermiculite insulation sold under the brand name Zonolite. But the vermiculite mined by the W.R. Grace Company to produce Zonolite has been found to also contain fibers of asbestos, a naturally-occurring mineral that has been linked to such deadly diseases as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. The EPA says Zonolite insulation is unlikely to pose a health risk when left undisturbed.  But inhaling the insulation dust accidently transported from the attic on Christmas decorations, wreaths, artificial trees or lights could put residents at serious risk including causing or…

Legal Settlements Highlight Mesothelioma Risk
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Legal Settlements Highlight Mesothelioma Risk

ByAlex Strauss

Recent large legal settlements in the Northeast highlight the continuing legacy of mesothelioma and asbestos exposure for U.S. industrial workers. Courts in New York and New Jersey have awarded more than $8 million dollars in recent weeks to workers who contracted mesothelioma from working around asbestos. A naturally occurring mineral once mined by the ton, asbestos can become deadly when inhaled or ingested.  Its tiny rock-like fibers lodge in the lungs or other organs, triggering inflammation that can lead to asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma over time.  Mesothelioma can take 20 to 50 years to develop and is very difficult to cure. Asbestos was used in many products including the roofs and wallboard of houses, oven mitts used in kitchens, the boiler…

Rise in Mesothelioma Linked to Australian Asbestos Mine
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Rise in Mesothelioma Linked to Australian Asbestos Mine

ByAlex Strauss

The asbestos-linked cancer mesothelioma is growing at an alarming pace in part of Australia and the government is coming under fire for not doing enough to fight the source of the problem. According to a report in the Australian newspaper The Herald Sun, the number of people killed by mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases in New South Wales will soon overtake the number of people killed in car accidents. Ombudsman Bruce Barbour told the newspaper that the annual total of accident victims of 397 in NSW in 2008 would soon be “dwarfed” by the number of people dying from asbestos cancers. By 2020, the country is expected to see 13,000 cases of mesothelioma annually and 40,000 cases of other asbestos-related…

Mesothelioma Causes Turkish Village To Be Evacuated
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Mesothelioma Causes Turkish Village To Be Evacuated

ByAlex Strauss

The Associated Press is reporting that an epidemic of mesothelioma cases is forcing the evacuation of a small Turkish village. Turkey has long been a favorite setting for researchers around the world studying mesothelioma.  A prevalence of a mineral in the soil called erionite appears to dramatically increase the risk that some residents will get the cancer most closely associated with asbestos exposure. According to the AP report, the town of Tuzkoy has a rate of mesothelioma that is 600 to 800 times higher than it is elsewhere in the world.  About 48 percent of deaths in that town, as well as in the nearby villages of Sarihidir and Karain, are from mesothelioma. Tuzkoy was declared a hazardous zone in 2004 and…

Mesothelioma High Risk Jobs Confirmed by Study
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Mesothelioma High Risk Jobs Confirmed by Study

ByAlex Strauss

Shipbuilders, construction workers, and people who help manufacture products made of asbestos have the highest risk of developing pleural mesothelioma, but other types of workers are not completely safe either. Asbestos was widely used in industries around the world for more than 60 years because of its low-cost, fire and chemical resistance, and strength. But in a recent four-year study of 462 French workers (80.3% men), researchers confirmed that industries that put employees in a position to potentially inhale the caustic mineral fibers are most likely to trigger the so-called ‘asbestos cancer’, mesothelioma.  According to recent studies, mesothelioma is the result of chronic irritation and inflammation in the soft tissue (pleura) that encases the lungs.  Although it is relatively rare, mesothelioma…

Firefighters Want Lifetime Monitoring for Mesothelioma
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Firefighters Want Lifetime Monitoring for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A group of firefighters in Washington State may pave the way for better protection of others who are at risk of mesothelioma cancer. The firefighters in Everett, Washington were exposed to asbestos, a known carcinogen, during training exercises in city-owned homes in 2007.  Because it was a training exercise, the firefighters were not wearing the type of gear that would normally protect them from deadly asbestos fibers and health risks like mesothelioma.  Now, they are asking their city to pay to have doctors monitor them for mesothelioma throughout their lives, or face a possible lawsuit. According to the Everett online news source, HeraldNet, dozens of firefighters and their families are asking for $9 million from the city to provide lifetime monitoring for…