The Asbestos Mesothelioma Link
The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure.
When asbestos fibers are breathed in, the majority are cleared in the nose, throat, etc. by sticking to mucus and being coughed up or swallowed. The longer and thinner fibers are not so easily expelled and they make their way through the lungs causing injury to lung cells that can result in lung cancer and/or asbestosis (scar tissue replaces lung tissue). If the fibers reach the pleura they can cause physical damage to mesothelial cells that may result in cancer. If swallowed, these fibers can reach the abdominal cavity where they have a role in causing peritoneal mesothelioma.
It is generally believed that mesothelioa is caused by asbestos fibers puncturing the parenchyma, becoming lodged in the pleura, and by process of irritation creating a cancerous change in the cells. Although there is no certainty whether asbestos causes cancer by the above physical method rather than by a chemical effect the risk of lung cancer among those exposed to asbestos is increased by seven times - asbestosis and lung cancer (including mesothelioma) are the most common causes of disease and death among those with heavy exposure to asbestos. Cancers of the larynx, esophagus, pancreas, kidney and colon have also been linked to exposure to asbestos.
A decade and a half after exposure statistically 6% of people will die of mesothelioma. This percentage is of course variable due to a whole range of factors. A risk factor is anything that may increases your chance of getting a disease and research has identified several factors related to developing mesothelioma.
The chance of developing mesothelioma is primarily related to how much asbestos a person has been exposed to and for how long. Those exposed at an early age, over a long period of time, and at high levels are most at risk. Mesothelioma takes a long time to develop with a diagnosis of mesothelioma possibly twenty to forty years after the first exposure. Often workers may not be told that they are working with or near asbestos but single exposures to very low levels of asbestos fibers may produce problems in the long-term.
Those directly employed in occupations (miners, insulators, ship builders) and industries that are widely construed as liable to asbestos exposure may not be the only ones at risk. According to the EPA there are more than 700,000 public buildings in the US that have asbestos insulation which then places at risk every person working in or visiting these buildings.
Environmental factors also increase risk. People living by asbestos mines (although not working at them) have shown increased incidences of asbestos-related illness such as mesothelioma. When building are demolished there is also the risk of spreading asbestos fibers (as occured during the building collapses of 9/11).
Studies have also shown that the families of people exposed to asbestos at work have a greater risk of developing mesothelioma due to the dangerous fibers being brought home on clothing worn at work.
Though the odds of geeting mesothelioma increase with the level of asbestos exposure genetic factors also impact in deciding who develops asbestos-related diseases. This answers the question of why not all those exposed to high amounts of asbestos fibers develop mesothelioma.
Even though the link between mesothelioma and asbestos is now widely known 30 million pounds are annually imported in to the United States with more contained in asbestos-laden products.
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