Asbestos on Ships Still Poses a Mesothelioma Risk to Sailors
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Asbestos on Ships Still Poses a Mesothelioma Risk to Sailors

ByAlex Strauss

A new report warns that sailors are still at risk for malignant mesothelioma because of asbestos on ships – in spite of OSHA regulations. A pair of public health researchers authored the report which appears in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.  Sailors face a number of health risks, including malignant mesothelioma. But the authors of the new report say more studies focus on people who work in shipyards.  They say there is not enough attention on the mesothelioma risk among people who not only work but also live with asbestos on ships.  The Use of Asbestos on Ships Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral. It must be mined from the ground and then processed into various products….

Atomic Military Veterans Faced Higher Risk From Asbestos Than Radiation
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Atomic Military Veterans Faced Higher Risk From Asbestos Than Radiation

ByAlex Strauss

A study published in a US medical journal shows atomic military veterans faced a higher risk from asbestos exposure during their service than they did from radiation.  The study published last summer focused on more than 100,000 veterans. These veterans participated in at least one of 230 above-ground nuclear weapons tests between 1945 and 1962. The tests took place at eight nuclear test sites.  Some soldiers participated in military maneuvers, observed nuclear weapons tests, or provided technical support. Others served on board ships or were stationed on islands during or after nuclear tests.  In spite of their proximity to radioactive weapons, atomic military veterans were more likely to die of an asbestos-related illness like mesothelioma than a radiation-related illness. The…

Mesothelioma Risk Among Navy Veterans is Focus of New Report
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Mesothelioma Risk Among Navy Veterans is Focus of New Report

ByAlex Strauss

A new study offers a sobering reminder of the mesothelioma risk among Navy veterans. Researchers at Vanderbilt University compared mesothelioma deaths among 114,000 veterans. These veterans were involved in nuclear testing during the Cold War. They referred to these service members as “atomic veterans”. Between 1945 and 1962, the US conducted 230 above-ground nuclear tests. Some of the tests took place in the Nevada desert while others were in the Pacific ocean. In a new study in the International Journal of Radiation Biology, researchers found a high mesothelioma risk among Navy veterans. They determined that it was much higher than it was in the other atomic veterans studied. Assessing Mesothelioma Risk in Atomic Veterans More than 250,000 military personnel took part…

Navy Did Not Protect All Veterans from Mesothelioma
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Navy Did Not Protect All Veterans from Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Calling it one of the “most knowledgeable organizations in the world regarding the health hazards of asbestos,” a San Francisco-based chemical risk assessment company says that the U.S. Navy was ahead of the curve in attempting to protect veterans and civilians from mesothelioma in the 1960’s.  Ships of that era were heavily laden with asbestos, making Navy veterans among the most common victims of mesothelioma, the most serious of the diseases caused by asbestos exposure. But according to Kara Franke and Dennis Paustenbach who examined dozens of published and unpublished documents on asbestos knowledge from 1900 to 1970, the Navy understood the health hazards of asbestos as early as the 1930’s. Although they continued to require its use on ships, the Navy…

Defense Department Combats Mesothelioma
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Defense Department Combats Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

The U.S. Department of Defense is stepping up its efforts to combat the threat of mesothelioma cancer among veterans.  For the fourth consecutive year, the DOD has agreed to provide grant funding to researchers exploring the causes and possible treatments for malignant mesothelioma, a disease triggered almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos. Because as many as a third of the approximately 2,500 cases of the disease reported annually in the U.S. occur among veterans, mesothelioma has been designated by the DOD since 2008 as an eligible disease under the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP).  This year, the program will provide $16 million in grants for the study of a range of cancers, including colorectal, bladder, kidney, pancreatic, mesothelioma and others.  The…