mesothelioma risk

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    Asbestos Mesothelioma Risk Increased By Other Fibers

    ByAlex Strauss

    Asbestos is a fibrous mineral mined and used for decades in products ranging from insulation to cement, floor and ceiling tiles, adhesives, and friction products. It has been more than forty years since scientists confirmed the link between asbestos and malignant pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lining around the lungs and its use is now heavily regulated in the U.S. In recent years, another mineral called erionite, has also been implicated in mesothelioma cases. Now, a study conducted in France suggests that two other types of mineral particles used in industry may increase the risk of mesothelioma, particularly in people who are also exposed to asbestos. Researchers in Bordeaux, France compared the cases of 1,199 male industrial workers with…

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    Joint Compound Still a Mesothelioma Threat

    ByAlex Strauss

    Most homeowners are aware of the risk of handling asbestos insulation, a common part of home construction from the 1940’s to 70’s. Construction workers may be even more keenly aware of the connection between airborne asbestos fibers and deadly mesothelioma than homeowners. But, while asbestos insulation can be easy to identify (and is no longer used in new construction), a recent article in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health is a reminder of the potential danger that still exists in a less obvious place: joint compound. Joint compound is the paste-like substance that is used to smooth the seams between sheets of drywall. For decades, many manufacturers added chrysotile asbestos fibers to joint compound to make it thicker and more…

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    “Net of Evidence” Supports Brake Dust/Mesothelioma Link

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new report seeks to put an end to the debate over whether or not asbestos-containing brake dust has the potential to cause mesothelioma cancer. Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral used in manufacturing and linked to mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other serious illnesses. The debate over the risk posed by its presence in brake dust has gone on for years. While asbestos brake linings were largely phased out after the arrival of front-wheel drive vehicles in the 1980s, industry experts say they are still sometimes used in higher-end vehicles and are available for aftermarket sale. The question is not whether or not some linings – past or present – contain asbestos, but whether or not that asbestos is sufficient to trigger…

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    Studies Highlight Global Mesothelioma and Asbestos Problem

    ByAlex Strauss

    Two new reports highlight the fact that mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases are global issues. Reporting in a recent issue of Global Health Action, scientists from South Africa’s National Institute for Occupational Health and the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg say the country is facing an epidemic of environmentally-linked asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma because of abandoned asbestos mines. The same report also found that many of these mesothelioma patients are not receiving any compensation for their injuries. South Africa was once a top exporter of asbestos, which was used for thousands of industrial applications, including insulation, construction materials, asbestos cement, and friction products like brake and clutch pads. Although all of South Africa’s asbestos mines are now closed because of the…

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    Mesothelioma Study Suggests Iron Makes Asbestos Toxic

    ByAlex Strauss

    An Italian study is shedding some light on exactly what makes asbestos so toxic to people and can eventually lead to mesothelioma. Asbestos, which was used for decades as an insulator and building material, is the mineral most closely associated with malignant mesothelioma, a virulent cancer. Asbestos has also been linked to lung cancer, asbestosis and disabling lung scarring. Although its toxicity is well known, the reasons for that toxicity are still unclear. Some scientists believe that iron, which is toxic in the body in large amounts, may be partially to blame. They have shown that iron can alter the production of cancer-preventing enzymes by changing DNA, and have suggested that ridding the body of excess iron may be one way…

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    Chicken Virus Key to Experimental Mesothelioma Treatment

    ByAlex Strauss

    An experimental treatment using a modified bird virus may hold promise for people with advanced malignant mesothelioma. Fowlpox is a viral infection that primarily affects chickens and turkeys. It is caused by an avipoxvirus from the Poxviridae family.  Recently, some of the world’s top mesothelioma researchers at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii used an altered form of the Fowlpox virus to successfully stimulate an anti-tumor immune response in mice with mesothelioma cancer. The treatment focused on a protein called survivin which is overexpressed by most human cancers, including mesothelioma, but rarely found in healthy tissues. In an effort to jump-start the immune systems of lab mice into targeting and attacking survivin-producing mesothelioma cells, the…

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    Pakistan May Ban Asbestos to Reduce Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Pakistan may be on the brink of banning the leading cause of mesothelioma. The mineral asbestos, used for decades in various industries, is believed to be responsible for nearly all cases of mesothelioma, an intractable cancer of the linings around organs. Now, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Resource Development in Pakistan is recommending that the use and importation of asbestos be permanently banned in the country. The committee made the recommendation after a series of hearings on asbestos and its link to mesothelioma. Federal Human Resource Secretary Raja Ahsan told the committee that asbestos presents a “major threat” for mesothelioma and cancer among Pakistan’s industrial workers. Asbestos consumption continues to rise in Pakistan; One study shows that the figure…

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    Mesothelioma Risk Created by Careless Thieves

    ByAlex Strauss

    Some thieves in Massachusetts may end up paying with their lives for stealing copper pipes from abandoned buildings. That is because the thieves inadvertently exposed themselves to mesothelioma-causing asbestos fibers when they ripped off old insulation to get at the pipes. They stole the old copper pipes to sell them for scrap. Because the buildings were built when the use of asbestos in insulation was at its peak in the 1960s, the pipes may be surrounded by a thick blanket of hazardous asbestos insulation. Asbestos in insulation and other building products is not considered a health hazard when left in place and intact, but disturbing it can create clouds of fibers that have been linked to mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung scarring, and…

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    Town’s Asbestos and Mesothelioma Risk Subject of Study

    ByAlex Strauss

    University of Pennsylvania researchers have announced that they will use a $1.2 million National Institutes of Health grant to study the residual effects of asbestos, the mineral that causes mesothelioma, on the town of Ambler, Pennsylvania. Once a bustling asbestos manufacturing town, Ambler is now home to two EPA Superfund cleanup sites. The Ambler Asbestos Piles, also known as the ‘White Mountains’, and the BoRit Asbestos site are all that is left of an industry that both supported and put the community at risk starting in 1897. Before it was known that asbestos caused mesothelioma and other health problems, thousands of unprotected workers had already been exposed. The mesothelioma risk in Ambler continued into the 1980’s when the last remaining…

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    Australian Electricians Fear Mesothelioma Risk

    ByAlex Strauss

    Calling the modification of electrical meter boxes a “game changer”, an official from Australia’s largest electricians union says workers should refuse to do it until the dangerous boxes have been inspected. Allen Hicks, Assistant National Secretary of the Electrical Trades Union, told the Sydney Morning Herald that asbestos-containing meter boxes are being modified more frequently because of renovations and that too many workers are not adequately protected against mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases. The warning, which centers on the meter boxes in homes built before 1983, was issued after a New South Wales electrical company instructed its workers to wear masks around the boxes to minimize asbestos and mesothelioma risk. When the Electrical Trades Union learned of the warning, they advised…