Mesothelioma: Causes

Asbestos
From the late 19th Century, Asbestos started to be used for commercial purpose in North America. Such use was limited till the outbreak of World War II when the demand for asbestos grew highly as it was used in the construction of warships. During the next 50 years, there continued widespread and unregulated use of asbestos by the manufacturing and construction industries. While the manufacturers continued to book large profit, the workers at the manufacturing facilities suffered from the ill-effects of inhaling asbestos dust and fiber. During the seventies some domestic uses of asbestos in USA like as ash in gas fireplaces and for making wallboard were banned. Any new use of asbestos was banned in 1989 although still allowing the existing uses. However since asbestos is still in use, the health risks like mesothelioma caused due to exposure to asbestos remain a threat.

Exposure
Usual exposure to asbestos always happens as people breathe the asbestos in air or drink groundwater containing asbestos. In fact exposure to natural deposits of asbestos in air and water cannot be avoided and is harmless. The diseases like asbestosis and mesothelioma afflict people only when they are exposed to asbestos in substantial measure and over a long period of time due to working or living around asbestos manufacturing facilities. Mesothelioma can also affect the family members of a worker carrying fiber and dusts of asbestos in his cloth, hair or skin. Symptoms of mesothelioma can be manifested long after the actual exposure and often after the worker has retired from the job. This latency period of the disease means the diagnosis of mesothelioma may take years.

Causes Continue
It was estimated in 2003 by the National Cancer Institute of USA that the incidence of mesothelioma will be around 71000 up to 2054. This projection can be termed conservative since it did not take into account the added risks of the disease post 9/11 when the people of New York were exposed to large concentration of carcinogenic asbestos particles in the air caused due to the destruction of the World Trade Center.