Asbestos use was banned in 1975 in most types of residential and commercial insulation materials, and this should lead to a decrease in the number of mesothelioma deaths after 2010, according to a new government study. The number of malignant mesothelioma deaths increased from 2,482 in 1999 to 2,704 in 2005, Ki Moon Bang, Ph.D., of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and colleagues reported in the April 24 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The 1975 ban on the use of asbestos in most types of residential and commercial insulation materials should begin to be reflected in a lower mesothelioma mortality rate. “Because mesothelioma manifests 20 to 40 years after first exposure, the number of mesothelioma deaths will likely peak by 2010,” the authors wrote.
The EPA tried to completely ban the use of asbestos in 1989. Unfortunately, that ban was overturned by a federal appeals court. As a result, “an estimated 1.3 million construction and general industry workers potentially are being exposed to asbestos,” the authors wrote. There are also concerns that carbon nanotubes used increasingly in manufacturing may have the same carcinogenic potential of asbestos.
The authors reported that 26 states had mesothelioma death rates that exceeded the national average, including six states that had death rates >20 per 1 million or greater: Maine (27.5), Wyoming (22.2), West Virginia (21.0), Pennsylvania (20.8), New Jersey (20.2), and Washington (20.1).
The Mesothelioma Attorney Alliance has local lawyers in Maine, Wyoming, West Virgina, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
For a general discussion of the asbestos/mesothelioma study, see this Medpage article. The complete study can be found here: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “Malignant mesothelioma mortality — United States, 1999-2005″ MMWR 2009; 58(15): 393-96.
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