Power Plant Mesothelioma Case May Be Just the Start for Mongolia
| | | |

Power Plant Mesothelioma Case May Be Just the Start for Mongolia

ByAlex Strauss

Mongolia has recorded its first-ever case of mesothelioma, but researchers say it is not likely to be the last. An article in the International ournal of Occupational and Environmental Health details the case of a 47-year old woman who developed mesothelioma after working for 28 years in a coal-burning thermal power plant. As in other parts of the world, asbestos has been widely used in Mongolian thermal power plants as an insulating material. Based on the prevalence of asbestos at these power plants, and the fact that more than 80 percent of mesothelioma cases worldwide have a history of asbestos exposure, the researchers recommend that Mongolia prepare for a significant rise in the disease. “We expect additional cases of mesothelioma,…

Construction Workers and Mesothelioma: Is Protection Really Possible?
| | | |

Construction Workers and Mesothelioma: Is Protection Really Possible?

ByAlex Strauss

The study, conducted by researchers in the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umea University, focused on male Swedish construction workers who had participated in health examinations between 1971 and 1993. Among the 367,568 workers included in the analysis, there were a total of 419 cases of mesothelioma occurring between 1972 and 2009. As expected, the incidence of mesothelioma was high among those who worked with some form of asbestos-containing insulation, including plumbers.  But, although these groups of workers had higher rates of mesothelioma than the general public, they accounted for only 21% of the mesothelioma cases in the study. There were even higher numbers of mesothelioma cases among concrete workers and wood workers. Other occupational group with…

Avoid Mesothelioma Risk When Storing Holiday Decorations
| |

Avoid Mesothelioma Risk When Storing Holiday Decorations

ByAlex Strauss

But even people who have long since thrown away their asbestos holiday décor could face a mesothelioma risk in their own attics when they access or store their decorations. That is because millions of American homes still contain Zonolite insulation, a brand of vermiculite insulation known to contain fibers of asbestos. Although asbestos-containing insulation is not believed to pose a mesothelioma risk when it is undisturbed, moving boxes around or stepping on the old insulation in an attic can create small clouds of deadly dust. This dust can then be transported into the living areas on the outside of boxes or even on the clothing of family members who went into the attic. Accidently inhaling or ingesting the dust, especially if…

Mesothelioma Patients May Need Medication to Reduce Clot Risk
| | | | | |

Mesothelioma Patients May Need Medication to Reduce Clot Risk

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers in Ankara, Turkey have just released a new study on the increased risk of thromboembolic events (TEEs) in patients with malignant mesothelioma. TEEs can occur when a blood clot (thrombus) breaks loose and travels through the blood stream to clog another vessel. Mesothelioma patients are at higher risk for the problem which can lead to strokes, heart attacks, blood clot in the lung (pulmonary thromboembolism), deep vein thrombosis and even death. The Turkish study included 178 mesothelioma patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma between January 2008 and June 2014. In all, 14 (7.9%) of the patients experienced TEEs. Two of these events triggered heart attacks and the remaining 12 were equally divided between deep vein thrombosis (in the legs)…

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….

Radiation Treatment May Worsen Lung Function in Mesothelioma
| | | | |

Radiation Treatment May Worsen Lung Function in Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Princeton Radiation Oncology reached that conclusion after evaluating 24 mesothelioma surgery patients between 2009 and 2013. Study subjects underwent either lung-sparing pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) surgery or lung-removing extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). Both procedures aim to improve mesothelioma survival by removing the diseased pleural lining and other at-risk tissues such as the diaphragm and the pericardium around the heart. Both sets of patients were then treated with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to the affected side of their chest in an effort to kill any mesothelioma cells left behind after surgery. IMRT delivers beams of radiation in short bursts, giving it the ability to conform radiation dose to the irregular shape of a mesothelioma tumor….

Dusty Job May Raise the Risk of Mesothelioma
| | | |

Dusty Job May Raise the Risk of Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A new study on drywall sanding finds that people who do it – from specialists to do-it-yourselfers – could be exposed to asbestos fibers in excess of current safe limits. Until the mid-1970s, the compound used to seal up the joints between wall boards contained chrysotile asbestos, a mineral designed to increase strength and durability and to minimize fire risk.  However, many people are now suffering the effects of earlier exposures and others are still being exposed by working in older buildings. In an effort to quantify the risks, researchers with ENVIRON International Corporation in Chicago collected information about drywall dust exposures by surveying experienced contractors, visiting job sites, and reviewing other studies on the subject. They then applied mathematical…

Carbon Nanotubes: Shape May Impact Mesothelioma Risk

Carbon Nanotubes: Shape May Impact Mesothelioma Risk

ByAlex Strauss

A new study contains more disturbing news for people who work in certain areas of materials science. Like asbestos fibers, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are small enough to be inhaled or accidentally ingested as dust. Unlike asbestos, which occurs naturally and is mined for commercial use, MWCNTs are synthetic. These carbon-based molecules are shaped into concentric tubes which resist chemical corrosion and are valuable for use in electronics, optics, textiles, and other areas of manufacturing. The goal of the new German study was to identify possible carcinogenic effects of MWCNTs and to determine how the cancer triggered by these molecules compares to mesothelioma triggered by asbestos. The team injected different shapes and sizes of MWCNTs into the abdomens of 500 lab…

Winemaker’s Mesothelioma Blamed on Asbestos Filter
| | | |

Winemaker’s Mesothelioma Blamed on Asbestos Filter

ByAlex Strauss

 Italian researchers are reporting the first case of mesothelioma in a person whose only known exposure to asbestos was in the winemaking business. The man worked for an Italian winemaker from 1960 to 1988. According to the authors of the new report, the winemaker treated the wine for impurities using a filter made of asbestos. As authors Alessandro Nemo and Stefano Silvestri of Florence’s Institute for Study and Prevention of Cancer explain, “The filter was created by dispersing in the wine asbestos fibers followed by diatomite while the wine was circulating several times and clogging a prefilter made of a dense stainless steel net.” Drs. Nemo and Silvestri report that the asbestos exposure which probably triggered the man’s mesothelioma could…

Man-made Insulator Unlikely to Pose Same Mesothelioma Risk as Asbestos
| | | | |

Man-made Insulator Unlikely to Pose Same Mesothelioma Risk as Asbestos

ByAlex Strauss

German scientists say a man-made insulating material called refractory ceramic fiber (RCF) is unlikely to raise the risk of lung cancer or mesothelioma in workers, despite the results of animal studies. . Although some tests of the aluminum-silicate based material on animals have suggested that it may also cause cancer, human studies have found no proof. Now, a new study conducted by researchers in the Institute of Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology in Munich say RCF fibers probably do not raise the risk for lung cancer or mesothelioma. They base their conclusion on the fact that RCF fibers are similar in size and shape to rock wool fibers and are likely to have a similar level of toxicity. Rock wool or…