Asbestos and Mesothelioma: A dangerous but rare combination.



Mesothelioma is caused by inhalation or ingestion of asbestos. Asbestos is a mineral found naturally. It is composed of strong flexible fibres. Asbestos was used extensively in industry because the fibres are heat resistant and a poor conductor of electricity. It is estimated that over 5,000 products have or had asbestos in them.

Of the six types of asbestos, only four are used commercially. These are chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite and anthrophyllite. Of these, crysotile or white asbestos accounts for 99% used in USA. In it natural state or well contained and maintained in products, asbestos do not pose a real hazard. It is when asbestos is broken down and fibres are released that health problems develop.

Asbestos fibres are very thin and sharp. The fibre is 2,000 times thinner than a human hair. It measures under 0.3 microns or one millionth of a millimetre in diameter and five microns in length. It is notseen by the naked eye or through a microscope. When released, the fibres remain in the atmosphere for a long time and can be carried great distances. When the fibres are inhaled, they stick to the lung issue and are not expelled by breathing out or coughing. Some remain in the lungs, others gravitate into the pleural lining.

Diseases caused by Asbestos are asbestosis, pleural plaques and lung cancers. The lung cancer can be either cancer of the lung itself or mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining. These cancers can take between 20 and 50 years to develop.

Professor Peto stated that new cases of mesothelioma will increase in the early part of the twenty first century. He also said, "Every single person in the UK has asbestos in their lungs. It is the level of exposure that is important."

Research has shown that people who has a history of asbestos exposure has a greater risk of lung cancer if they smoked. In a survey in 1992, 2602 individuals with lung cancer were interviewed. One in eight was exposed to asbestos and of these a third still smoked. A US study suggested that non-smokers exposed to asbestos have a five times greater risk of lung cancer. If they smoked, then the risk increased by a factor of 11. Smoking and asbestos increases the risk of developing lung cancer to 52 times that of the general population.

At present no one knows how many lung cancers are due to asbestos exposure because of the long latency period and that cigarette smoking remains the major cause. Mesothelioma, however, is caused by Exposure to asbestos and this has been the basis of numerous high value legal claims.As for the future, in the USA and Europe, asbestos related diseases will gradually increase to a peak. Of concern, however, are areas of conflict. When numerous buildings were bombed, do we have any idea how much asbestos was released into the atmosphere?

We do know, however, that during the 9/11 disaster, asbestos fibres were released. When the World Trade Centre collapsed, there were 400 tons of asbestos in the infrastructure. The toxic cloud that hung over Manhattan, contained high level of asbestos. It is believed that over 100,000 people suffered asbestos exposure. First responders suffered the greatest exposure. Deborah Reeve was the first to die from asbestos related disease after 9/11. She was a first responder and paramedic. She died in March 2005 from mesothelioma. This shocked experts because mesothelioma takes many years to develop. They concluded that her exposure must have been excessive.

Hopefully, as experts predict, within the next few years diseases due to asbestos exposure will peak and the annual new cases will drop.