Deaths from asbestos

It has been estimated that cancer deaths due to asbestos will peak at several thousand per year in the UK alone, and at over 10,000 per year in the USA over the thirty-year period from 1983. The deaths from mesothelioma alone in the UK are believed to number 1,800 and will not reach a peak for another ten years. It is the most common occupational cause of death in the UK Hence, while deaths from most other cancers are decreasing, deaths from asbestos-related cancer are increasing. 

Johnson, William G. and Edward Heller. 1984. Compensation for Death from Asbestos. Industrial and Labor Relations Review. July 529-40. 

The a-tocopherol, P-carotene (ATBC) Cancer Prevention study was a randomised-controlled trial that tested the effects of daily doses of either 50 mg (50 lU) vitamin E (all-racemic a-tocopherol acetate), or 20 mg of P-carotene, or both with that of a placebo, in a population of more than 29,000 male smokers for 5-8 years. No reduction in lung cancer or major coronary events was observed with any of the treatments. What was more startling was the unexpected increases in risk of death from lung cancer and ischemic heart disease with P-carotene supplementation (ATBC Cancer Prevention Study Group, 1994). Increases in the risk of both lung cancer and cardiovascular disease mortality were also observed in the P-carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), which tested the effects of combined treatment with 30 mg/d P-carotene and retinyl pahnitate (25,000 lU/d) in 18,000 men and women with a history of cigarette smoking or occupational exposure to asbestos (Hennekens et al, 1996). 

Cancer at Other Sites. Mortality studies of asbestos workers have revealed small increases in the incidence of death from cancer at one or more sites other than the lung, the pleura, or the peritoneirm, mostly in tissues of the gastrointestinal system. For example, a total of 99 deaths from cancers of the esophagus, stomach, colon, or rectum were observed in a cohort of 17,800 insulation workers, while only... 

The workers were also exposed to asbestos, radiation, and other unspecified chemicals. Positive associations were observed between the exposures and rates of death from lung, lymphopoietic, bladder, and kidney cancers. Kerosene fuels, which contain PAHs and asbestos, are associated with lung cancer, but not with the other cancers. Methyl hydrazine is not a known human carcinogen. Similar results were reported for the carcinogenic effects of lipophilic PAHs in combination with hydrophilic chemicals for aluminum workers, coal gasification workers, and chimney sweeps. I17 ... 

The British Lung Foundation has calculated that every week on average six electricians, four plumbers and eight joiners die in the UK as a result of exposure to asbestos, making it the greatest cause of work-related deaths. Chief Executive Dr Penny Woods said that twice as many people die in Britain each year from asbestos related illnesses than those who die from accidents on the roads . 

CARET 14254 smokers, 4 060 asbestos workers. United States Male and Female 4 30 mg /3-carotene and 25000 lU retinol Increase in deaths from CVD (+26%) (terminated early)... 

The difficulties of adequate and reproducible diagnosis have interfered with determination of the incidence of mesothelioma. McDonald studied 11,000 Canadian chrysotile miners and, in 1980, reported that of the 4547 deaths in this group between 1910 and 1975, only 11 were recorded as resulting from mesothelioma (McDonald et al. 1980). At other sites, especially shipyards, mills, and manufacturing plants, other authors had reported higher incidences among individuals exposed to asbestos (e.g., Elmes et al., 1965 Newhouse and Thompson, 1965). Selikoff reported 15 mesotheliomas out of 199 deaths in 689 asbestos production and textile workers exposed between 1959 to 1971, although only 4 such deaths had been recorded before 1966 (Selikoff et al., 1972). 

A study of 260 workers with 15 or more years of exposure to commercial talc dust (containing not only talc, but also tremolite, antho-phyllite, carbonate dusts, and a small amount of free silica) revealed a 40-fold greater than expected proportional mortality from cancer of the lungs and pleura. In addition, a major cause of death was cor pulmonale, a result of the pneumoconiosis the effects were likely due to the asbestos-form contaminants. The role of nonfibrous talc in these disease states could not be assessed. 

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