Monday, October 24, 2011

Occupational exposure to asbestos and mortality among asbestos removal workers

Occupational exposure to asbestos and mortality among asbestos removal workers: a Poisson regression analysis
by G Frost, A-H Harding, A Darnton, D McElvenny, and D Morgan


Abstract
The asbestos industry has shifted from manufacture to stripping/removal work. The aim of this study was to investigate early indications of mortality among removal workers. The study population consisted of 31 302 stripping/removal workers in the Great Britain Asbestos Survey, followed up to December 2005. Relative risks (RR) for causes of death with elevated standardised mortality ratios (SMR) and sufficient deaths were obtained from...more>>

Materials and methods
The Great Britain Asbestos Survey was established in 1971 to monitor mortality among workers in the asbestos manufacturing industry. Workers were initially invited to participate in the survey with voluntary medical examinations at 2 yearly intervals. Under the Asbestos Licensing Regulations (ALR) 1983 all individuals working with certain kinds of asbestos were required to undergo statutory examinations including pre-employment examinations. At this time substantial numbers of asbestos strippers were recruite...more>>

Statistical analysis
Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated for all workers in the survey only ever employed in asbestos removal work (n=52 387). The expected number of deaths was calculated using the 5-year age-, period- and sex-specific mortality rates for England and Wales, and for Scotland. Person-years at risk were calculated from the date of ...more>>

Results
In total, 52 387 asbestos removal workers took part in the survey between 1971 and 2005. Ninety-eight percent of workers were traced for follow-up with the NHSCR. Altogether 31 302 asbestos removal workers, who attended between one and 19 examinations during the study period, were included in the analysis (Table 1). Among the removal workers there were 985 deaths including 384 cancers, 115 lung cancers, and 23 mesotheliomas...more>>

Discussion
The main strength of the study is that it captured the vast majority of asbestos removal workers covered by the regulations in Great Britain (GB), together with such confounders as smoking status and on the working practices of the participant specific to the asbestos removal industry.
The majority of removal workers included in the analysis...more>>


Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Mesothelioma asbestos facts

  • The average age of patients with malignant Mesothelioma cancer is 60 years.
  • Mesothelioma has a latency period of 20 to 50 years after the first exposure to asbestos.
  • It is estimated that it will be around 250,000 new cases of Mesothelioma before 2020.
  • There are about 2500- 3000 new cases of Mesothelioma each year in the U. S.
  • 1 in 3 U. S. Veterans will be diagnosed with an asbestos related Mesothelioma cancer.
  • Over 75 percent of Mesothelioma cases are diagnosed in men age 55 or older.
  • The average life expectancy for a Mesothelioma cancer diagnosis is 12-18 months.
  • More than 700,000 people over the world have filed claims against more than 6,000 asbestos companies.
  • During the 20th century, some 30 million tons of asbestos was used in shipyards, industrial sites, schools, homes and commercial buildings in the U. S.
  • Mesothelioma is more common in whites (1.1 percent per 1,000) and Hispanics/Latinos than in African Americans (0.5 percent per 1,000) or Asian Americans.
  • The Mesothelioma incidence rates in industrialized countries range between 0.5 and 3 cases per million in men and between 0.2 and 2 cases per million in women*
  • Mesothelioma cancer is not related specifically to smoking. However, smoking and asbestos together dramatically increase risk.
  • 96% of Mesothelioma cases occurs after 20+ years latency period after asbestos exposure

* According to a paper published by the Annals of Oncology.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Mechanisms which could be activating meso.

Layard and Stanton hypothesized in 1977/78 that chemical effects linked to cancer (mesothelioma) are not initiated by the toxicity of fibrous materials, that's any trigger-effects of asbestos must presumably be physical. They presume:
 
  • (A) mechanical damage
  • (B) unwanted signal channels (a property for thin transparent fibres) which might disrupt normal cell activity, especially mitosis.

(A) Mechanical Damage. There is experimental evidence that very slim fibers (<60 nm, <0.06 μm in width) do tangle destructively with chromosomes (being comparably sized ). It is quite clear that it's likely to cause the sort of mitosis disruption expected in cancer (mesothelioma).


(B) Unwanted Signal Channels. This presume has recently been explored theoretically, but unfortunately not yet experimentally. The theory claims that this effect would only be feasible for asbestos fibers >100 nm in width ( or >150 nm in the chrysotile case), suggesting that we should be on the look-out for a possible mixture of different mechanisms for the various fiber-diameter-ranges.



One popular idea of the causal chain is


             (1) Asbestos fiber → → (3) inflammation → → (4) other pathology


    Although this may be true, it does't explain → → (2) the actual trigger.

    "What is the physical characteristic of asbestos which initiates such an inflammation?"
    After all, inflammation is commonly seen as caused by chemical-based processes: immunological and/or bacterial. So inflammation may well be part of the causal chain, but not a crucial first step.

    Sunday, October 2, 2011

    Mesothelioma Attorney Illinois



    Chicago Attorneys


    Cooney & Conway

    120 N. LaSalle Street, 30th Floor
    Chicago, Illinois 60602
    Toll Free: (800) 997-1505
    Phone: (888) 651-1850
    Fax: (312) 236-3029


    Pintas & Mullins Law Firm

    368 West Huron Street, Suite 100
    Chicago, Illinois 60654-3424
    Phone: (800)310-2222

    Simmons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Barnerd LLC

    230 West Monroe, Suite 2221
    Chicago, Illinois 60606
    Phone: (312) 759-7500
    Fax: (312) 759-7516




    Edwardsville Attorneys


    Gori Julian & Associates, P.C.

    156 North Main Street
    Edwardsville, Illinois 62025
    Toll Free: (888) 362-6890
    Phone: (618) 307-4085
    Fax: (618) 659-9834


    Mesothelioma Attorney Chicago

    Choosing a experienced Chicago Mesothelioma Attorney to handle your asbestos case is an important decision and obviously requires serious consideration before a decision on the right law firm or lawyer is made. The natural inclination will be to go to a good known attorney rather than a total stranger. But if that lawyer is not specifically equipped to handle mesothelioma lawsuit, in spite of the best of intentions it's likely to be mishandled and the case may be lost. It's better to get friendly advice from known lawyers to ascertain who will be the experienced mesothelioma attorney to handle your case.



    Chicago Attorneys



    Cooney & Conway

    120 N. LaSalle Street, 30th Floor
    Chicago, Illinois 60602
    Toll Free: (800) 997-1505
    Phone: (888) 651-1850
    Fax: (312) 236-3029


    Pintas & Mullins Law Firm

    368 West Huron Street, Suite 100
    Chicago, Illinois 60654-3424
    Phone: (800)310-2222


    Simmons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Barnerd LLC

    230 West Monroe, Suite 2221
    Chicago, Illinois 60606
    Phone: (312) 759-7500
    Fax: (312) 759-7516


    Mesothelioma Attorney Phoenix

    Choosing a Phoenix Asbestos Mesothelioma Attorney to handle your case obviously requires serious consideration before a decision on the right lawyer or law firm is made. The natural inclination will be to go to a good known attorney rather than a total stranger. But if that lawyer is not specifically equipped to handle asbestos lawsuit, in spite of the best of intentions it is likely to be mishandled and the case may be lost. It is better to get friendly advice from known lawyers to acertain who will be the experienced asbestos mesothelioma lawyer to handle your case.



    Phoenix Attorneys


    O'Steen & Harrison, PLC

    300 W. Clarendon Ave., Suite 400
    Phoenix, Arizona 85013-3424
    Toll Free: (800) 883-8888
    Phone: (602) 252-8888


    Stark Williamson & Clausen LLP

    2700 North Central Avenue, Suite 1400
    Phoenix, Arizona 85004
    Phone: (602) 285 4450
    Fax: (602) 285-4483


    The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker Inc.

    300 West Clarendon Avenue, Suite 325
    Phoenix, Arizona 85013
    Toll Free: (800) 333-0000
    Fax: (602) 340-0039