Workers who have been exposed to asbestos on the job are more likely to die from lung cancers, mesothelioma, and
asbestosis, as well as from stomach cancer and stroke, according to one of the longest-running studies of British
asbestos workers, published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
On the positive side, more stringent asbestos
regulations appear to be reducing the risk of asbestos-related diseases among younger workers.Since the early part of
the 20th century, asbestos-related diseases have been the leading cause of job-related deaths in Great Britain,
and the number of deaths has been on the rise.
Although Britain has enacted stricter laws governing the use of
industrial asbestos, exposed workers will likely continue to develop deadly cancers in the years to come.
Since 1971, researchers in England have been studying British asbestos workers to determine what effects asbestos
regulations have had on their health over the long-term. Unlike past occupational research, the current study looked
at workers from across various asbestos industries, including asbestos manufacturing, insulation, and removal.
The study included nearly 100,000 asbestos workers (most of them male) who completed surveys and were followed up from
1971 to 2005. When the study began, most of the participants worked in the manufacturing industry.
By 2005, the majority worked in asbestos removal.
“To our knowledge, there is no other occupational study of removal
workers; since these comprise the large majority of workers in the modern asbestos industry in Great Britain, information
on these workers is particularly valuable,” says lead study author Anne-Helen Harding, PhD, a researcher with the Health
and Safety Laboratory in Derbyshire, England.
Asbestos workers overall faced a 41 percent higher risk of death from
all causes than the general population, the study found. They were more likely to die from cancers of the lung, peritoneum
(abdominal lining), pleura (lung lining), as well as from mesothelioma and asbestosis (lung scarring). Workers in
insulation generally faced the highest risk, and asbestos removal workers the second-highest risk for lung cancer,
pleural and peritoneal cancers, and mesothelioma.
The study also found a link between occupational asbestos exposure
and deaths from stroke and stomach cancer. “Elevated risks of stroke and stomach cancer have been reported previously,
but the evidence for a causal association with asbestos exposure is inconclusive,” Dr. Harding says. “Establishing a
link with asbestos exposure can be difficult.”
It can be hard to distinguish asbestos exposure from other established
risk factors for these diseases, such as smoking (more than half of the participants were smokers). Another challenge
in establishing a link is the long lag time between asbestos exposure and illness. It can take up to 40 years after
exposure for asbestos workers to be diagnosed with cancer.
That long latency period may be why study participants
who started work earlier were more likely to die from cancer or lung disease. Workers who were first exposed to asbestos
after 1959 faced a lower risk than those who started working earlier.
This finding also suggests that more stringent
laws, including a 1999 ban on the use of most new asbestos products in the UK, have had some benefit.
The phasing out of
asbestos-based products is likely to lead to a drop in the incidence of asbestos-related diseases, although these diseases
will continue to be diagnosed as workers are exposed to the asbestos that remains in ships, buildings, and other
industrial sites, according to Dr. Harding.
Even though occupational asbestos exposures are somewhat different in the
United States, the results of this study are still relevant to workers in this country, Dr. Harding says. As asbestos
workers continue to be diagnosed with lung cancers and mesothelioma, the risk of occupational asbestos exposure will
remain an important issue on both sides of the pond.
Source:
Harding AH, Darnton A, Wegerdt J, McElvenny D.
Mortality among British asbestos workers undergoing regular medical examinations (1971-2005).
Occup Environ Med. 2009 Mar 1. [Epub ahead of print]
I have lung cancer but I smoked; does my asbestos exposure matter?
Yes. Physicians who are knowledgeable about asbestos-related
diseases will tell you that asbestos exposure and cigarette
smoking are a lethal combination. Alone, either cigarette smoking
or asbestos exposure can cause lung cancer. For a person who has
been exposed to asbestos and smoked, the risk is greatly
magnified. Asbestos exposure has been determined to be a
substantial contributing factor in the development of lung cancer
for those who smoked.
The number of lung cancer cases caused by asbestos is—at least
statistically—relatively small, with smoking accounting for 90% of
all lung cancer cases and asbestos only 2 to 5%. While the most
common cause of lung cancer is tobacco use, the combination of
asbestos exposure and smoking, is a deadly mix, greatly increasing
a person's risk of developing lung cancer, which the following
chart reveals.
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Hammond EC, Selikoff IJ, Seidman H. Asbestos exposure, cigarette
smoking and death rates.
Ann NY Acad Sci 1979;
330:473-491
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Group
|
Smoking
|
Mortality Ratio
|
|
Control
|
No
|
1.0
|
|
Asbestos Workers
|
No
|
5.2
|
|
Control
|
Yes
|
10.9
|
|
Asbestos Workers
|
Yes
|
53.9
|
It is estimated that about eight million people have been exposed
to asbestos over the last half a century in the USA alone during
various manufacturing processes.
In New Zealand estimates have
put the total number of people employed in asbestos cement
manufacture on it's own over the last fifty years at anything up to
eight thousand. There are many other types of employment involving
asbestos
In some groups of people who were heavily exposed to asbestos, up
to 20 to 25% of all deaths are due to lung cancer. (In the general
population, lung cancer causes only 5% of all deaths)
How many people out there have been diagnosed with lung cancer
and never been asked if they were exposed to asbestos? Especially if
they smoked.
Each of these diseases can only be diagnosed through medical
examinations and tests.
Because you have been exposed to asbestos; does not mean you have
or will have an asbestos-related disease.
What it does mean
though, is you should be.
1) Careful of your health.
2) Make sure your G.P. is aware of your exposure to asbestos.
3) Receive regular check-ups.
4) If you smoke , try and give it up.
( smoking greatly
increases the risk of lung cancer in asbestos workers,)
According to the National Cancer Institute, among some groups of
workers who were heavily exposed to asbestos, as much as 20 to 25%
of all deaths are due to lung cancer.
( In the general
population, lung cancer causes only 5% of all deaths.)
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS.
(Pleural Mesothelioma)
If you have been exposed to asbestos and experience any of the
following signs and symptoms, please inform your doctor.
Your
doctor should be informed about your exposure anyway.
a) Shortness of breath on exertion.
b) Dry irritating cough.
c) Unexplained pains in chest or abdomen.
d) Tightness in the chest.
e) Nail abnormalities.
f) Unexplained incidences of flu-like
symptoms or pneumonia.
g) Unexplained tiredness.
h) Malaise (bodily weakness)
i) Unexplained weight loss.
j) Coldness/ tingling of extremities.
k) Asbestos warts.
l) Benign pleural effusions.
m) Deep sighing or continuous yawning.
n) Stiffness in neck region.
o) Difficulty in swallowing.
p) Unusual breathing habits
while sleeping.
I have put this list in as they were some of the signs that Thom
had been showing for some time but no one could find what was wrong
with him
I would be interested in any signs and symptoms that you have
experienced before you were diagnosed with Mesothelioma or any
asbestos related disease and the
length of time you had them.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS.
(Peritoneal Mesothelioma)
Peritoneal mesothelioma can lay dormant in the system for many decades
like all the other forms of asbestos related diseases.
Because of this, it is more difficult
to diagnose as it is sometimes hard to make the connection of your exposure to asbestos.
The symptoms can easily be mistaken for other more common diseases and so many victims are incorrectly
diagnosed,
or by the time they are diagnosed the disease has already advanced and treatment is more difficult.
a) Abdominal pain, acute to severe
b) Swelling of the abdominal area due to fluid being retained.
c) Breathing difficulties.
d) Loss of appetite and because of this, loss of weight.
e) Bowel obstruction
f) Nausea
g) Vomiting.
h) Weakness
i) Fever.
j) Anaemia
Please E-Mail me with any
information you would like to share and have on this website.
Thank you very
much, Regards from Deidre.
Mom,(all in
black) looks on absolutely disgusted that her kids just won't listen
to her warnings about what smoking will do to their health.
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