Rising asbestos deaths to come in the USA

Main Category: Asbestos / Mesothelioma
Also Included In: Public Health;  Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 04 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT


In the USA about ten thousand people die each year from diseases caused by asbestos. These numbers are set to rise. This is a growing public health crisis, says an environmental research group.

The four asbestos related diseases are:

-- mesothelioma
-- asbestosis
-- lung cancer
-- gastrointestinal cancer

A new study was carried out by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), Washington, USA. They say that over the next ten years the number of deaths will far exceed 100,000.

It called for a ban on asbestos. It also asked for federal asbestos screening. Victims of asbestos exposure need a fair measure of assistance, the EWG said.

Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah) called for a session to finish legislation to replace asbestos lawsuits with a victims' fund. The fund would be supported by companies and insurers.

However, Richard Wiles, of EWG, the author of this report, called the Senate proposal as 'grossly insufficient'. He said this was a public health issue, not an economic one.

The researchers in this study only looked at the toll on just two causes of asbestos deaths, mesothelioma and asbestosis. They gathered government data over a period of 25 years on asbestos mortality.

The worrying thing here is that while most deaths were among people who had been exposed to asbestos as a material for fire-proofing many years ago, over a million Americans today are exposed to asbestos in their work. Apparently, millions of others are exposed to asbestos in the environment.

Inhaled asbestos fibers (fibres in the UK) are linked to cancer and other illnesses.

Asbestos used to be popular for fireproofing. In the seventies it was stopped because of the dangers.

Richard Wiles said 'We're at the beginning of a tidal wave of asbestos diseases and mortality that needs to be brought to the attention of the public, federal policymakers and health officials."

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