Mesothelioma Risks in Unexpected Places
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Mesothelioma Risks in Unexpected Places

ByAlex Strauss

Although asbestos was most common in industrial settings like ship yards and manufacturing plants, recent headlines drive home the fact that the mineral which causes mesothelioma can still be found in some unexpected places – including restaurants, retail stores and even hospitals. A 60-year-old chef from Salisbury, England reportedly contracted malignant mesothelioma after years of working around a restaurant oven with asbestos seals on its doors.  A naturally occurring mineral, asbestos is resistant to heat and fire, which once made it a popular insulator. But in his case against the pizza restaurant where he worked for years, Luigi Pes alleged that he had inadvertently inhaled asbestos dust from years of opening and closing the oven. Pes was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2008….

DOE Workers Face Higher Risks for Mesothelioma and Other Cancers
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DOE Workers Face Higher Risks for Mesothelioma and Other Cancers

ByAlex Strauss

Construction workers at four Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear sites have been exposed to asbestos and other dangerous materials that are putting them at significantly higher risk for mesothelioma, lung disease, and other cancers according to a new report published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. Working in construction and other trade jobs at nuclear sites can be risky business. Workers are regularly exposed to a number of cancer-causing substances, including asbestos. Since the mid 1990s, the government has been conducting surveillance programs to determine the health risks faced by workers at four DOE sites: Hanford Nuclear Reservation (Richland, Washington), Oak Ridge Reservation (Oak Ridge, Tennessee), Savannah River Site (Aiken, South Carolina), and the Amchitka site (Alaska). In past studies,…