Who Gets Mesothelioma?

Who Gets Mesothelioma?
Statistics show that, because of
their work history, the disease most
often affects men between the
ages of 50 and 70 who were
employed in an asbestos-laden
environment before asbesto
regulations were imposed in the
late 1970s. Though women still
have a much lower frequency of
the disease, cases ofsecond-hand
exposure to asbestos has
prompted more diagnoses among
women, especially those whose
male family members worked with
asbestos. The occupations most
associated with mesothelioma are
shipyard workers, electricians,
plumbers, construction industry
workers, pipefitters, boilermakers,
and anyone subject to heavy
exposure to dangerous airborne
asbestos fibers.
An abundance of cases have also
shown us that mesothelioma can
develop among people who lived
in communities where asbestos
factories or mines were located. In
some instances, entire towns have
been adversely affected by the
presence ofasbestos in the air. For
example, in Libby, Montana - site
of a former vermiculite asbestos
mine - hundreds have already died
of mesothelioma.
Though still significantly rarer than
other cancers, an estimated 2,000
to 3,000 new cases of
mesothelioma are diagnosed each
year in the United States. Other
countries, notably the United
Kingdom and Australia, report a
much higher incidence of the
disease. Nevertheless, the United
States - like many other countries -
has seen an increase in asbestos-
caused cancer as men who worked
in U.S. shipyards in the 1940s and
1950s, at the height of production,
are now being diagnosed with
mesothelioma.