Study Links Mesothelioma in Women to Cloth Dolls in Factory

A rising number of women are diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer each year. Researchers in Italy are the latest to study this growing trend and show that asbestos exposure — the main cause of mesothelioma — doesn’t only affect men working certain blue-collar jobs. The report, published in the Italian medical journal La Medicina del Lavoro in April, analyzes possible asbestos exposure in a cloth doll factory. Using data from the Province of Brescia Mesothelioma Registry, researchers found three cases of pleural mesothelioma cancer diagnosed in young women who had worked for two doll manufacturing companies. A judicial autopsy performed on one of the women revealed a high concentration of asbestos fibers in the lung tissue. The asbestos exposure for all three women was originally reported as “unknown.” “The three cases of mesothelioma in doll production workers suggest that also in this restricted manufacturing sector had occurred an occupational asbestos exposure, which is up to now unknown and isn’t due only to the use of sewing or ironing machines,” lead author Pietrogino Barbieri wrote. Asbestos Exposure in Doll Manufacturing Mesothelioma cases are predominantly a result of occupational asbestos exposure. The rare cancer carries a long latency period, meaning it can take years — typically decades — after exposure before symptoms become noticeable. These two factors explain why the vast majority of mesothelioma patients are men diag...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: asbestos cloth doll factory asbestos doll manufacturing environmental asbestos exposure La Medicina del Lavoro mesothelioma cloth doll workers mesothelioma in Italy occupational asbestos exposure Pietrogino Barbieri Province of Brescia Mes Source Type: news