Environmental Asbestos Raises Mesothelioma Among Women

For decades, mesothelioma has predominately affected white men older than 60 years of age. This is largely because of the rare cancer’s connection to occupational asbestos exposure and its long latency period of 20 to 50 years. But as worldwide use of asbestos continues to decline and more industrialized countries continue to ban the toxic mineral, scientists are noticing a shift in age and gender when it comes to mesothelioma cases. University of New Caledonia epidemiologist Francine Baumann designed and performed a study analyzing environmental risk of mesothelioma in the U.S. and its effect on women and young people. “In countries where asbestos is no longer used by the industry, and where there are other fibrous minerals present in the natural environment, I think that the proportion of environmental causes of exposure is very likely increasing, and that the proportion of female and young mesothelioma cases is also very likely to rise,” Baumann told Asbestos.com. The Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health recently published the results of Baumann’s study. What Is Environmental Asbestos Exposure? Environmental asbestos exposure generally occurs from natural deposits of fibrous minerals found in specific geographic areas. Over time, these deposits can become disturbed through construction of roads, commercial development or natural erosion. These factors, combined with dry conditions and high winds, send toxic asbestos fibers in the air, which bec...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: asbestos exposure in nevada asbestos exposure in women environmental asbestos environmental exposure to asbestos mesothelioma deaths from asbestos mesothelioma diagnosis mesothelioma in women Source Type: news