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Second-Hand Asbestos Exposure Responsible for Some Mesothelioma Cases
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelial cells, caused by breathing in asbestos fibers that become lodged in the thin membrane that lines and encases the lungs. While most of the cases of mesothelioma affect individuals who were exposed to asbestos in the workplace, physicians are also treating mesothelioma patients whose only exposure came from contact with the fibers that adhered to the clothes of the worker who actually worked with asbestos products, known as second-hand or take-home exposure.
Thousands of workers in a variety of industries have been affected by the dangerous nature of asbestos fibers. Some of the trade workers most at risk from asbestos include insulators, plumbers and pipefitters, electricians, sheet metal workers, auto mechanics and shipbuilders. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), asbestos causes approximately half of all deaths from occupational cancer with 125 million people worldwide exposed to asbestos in the workplace.
Men who worked around asbestos, and brought the fibers home on their clothing, shoes and in their hair, may have inadvertently exposed their children and spouses to the deadly toxin. Asbestos is a known carcinogen and even small amounts of asbestos and infrequent exposure can create a risk for contracting mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases.
Mesothelioma has an extended latency period, often as much as 50 years, frequently affecting patients in their late 60’s to 70’s who typically began working around asbestos-containing materials in their 20’s. However, when a child is exposed to take-home asbestos from his father, the clock starts ticking earlier and diagnosis of mesothelioma in patients in their 20’s and 30’s is not uncommon for this scenario.
The survival rate for mesothelioma is often between 4 and 18 months after diagnosis. The primary determining factors are age, overall health and fitness of the patient and the extent of the disease. Due to the younger age of many second-hand exposure patients the survival rate is often higher for them. Even though mesothelioma can be treated with varying degrees of success through the use of surgical procedures, chemotherapy and radiation, there is no known cure.
In the United States approximately 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year.
