A study published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report has confirmed what mesothelioma advocates have long suspected: deaths from malignant mesothelioma among women have continued to increase despite the sharp decline in asbestos use.
Rise in Women’s Mesothelioma Linked to Take-Home Asbestos Exposure
The study analyzed death records from 1999-2020 from the National Vital Statistics System and showed that the annual number of mesothelioma deaths among women increased 25% from 489 in 1999 to 614 in 2020, with seven states – Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin – recording significantly higher rates of death per million women. The researchers suggest that the geographic increase reflects the prevalence of shipyard industries or mining and processing vermiculite, suggesting the women were sickened by take-home asbestos exposure.
A projection of mesothelioma cases base on the 1973-2005 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data had projected that the number of women diagnosed with and dying of the asbestos-related disease would increase, and the numbers in the more recent study confirm that forecast.
NIOSH Study Shows Women’s Mesothelioma Caused by Different Asbestos Exposures than Men
The report was authored by physicians from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC, who note that though mesothelioma is universally cause by exposure to asbestos fibers, the percentage of women exposed in a work setting significantly differs from that of men, and so do the work settings themselves.
Where an estimated 85% of men’s mesothelioma came from working in occupations such as shipbuilding, construction, manufacturing and other industrial settings, only 23% of women’s mesotheliomas came from a job site. For women, the three occupations with the highest number of deaths were homemakers, (22.8%), elementary and middle school teachers (5.6%), and registered nurses (4.9%). Most asbestos exposure came from other sources, including take-home exposures to family members exposed at their workplace. One study indicated that the relative risk of mesothelioma among women with a husband or father working in an asbestos-exposed field increased ten-fold.
Report Warns of Future Mesothelioma Risk
Despite the fact that asbestos use has substantially decreased since 1973, there are still many buildings that have previously installed friable asbestos-containing materials in place, giving rise to risk for future cases of malignant mesothelioma.
The report warns that “in addition to contemporary cases arising from past exposures, cases associated with future occupational and environmental exposures might occur if activities such as remediation and demolition of older buildings and equipment are done with inadequate asbestos controls to protect workers and the surrounding community.”
