Death rates from mesothelioma on the rise in Australia and around the world
One in fifteen retired carpenters in Australia and the UK will perish from mesothelioma, predicts cancer expert Professor Julian Peto, Head of the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology and Genetics Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Professor Peto delivered his warning to a public audience at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Indeed, the mesothelioma rate is increasing everywhere in the world. In Australia alone, 500 men and 100 women develop mesothelioma every year. Incidence of the disease is not expected to peak there for about 15 years, when 900 deaths a year are predicted. According to Professor Peto, Australia’s asbestos-cancer rates are still climbing because of the country’s continued use until the 1980s of brown amosite asbestos in building products. Now former construction workers, particularly carpenters, plumbers and electricians face the biggest risk, rather than workers in asbestos manufacturing and insulation, where the risk was first recognized. This is because even after the dangers became known, construction workers were still heavily exposed, often having to cut asbestos cement board with power tools, which caused very high dust levels, explains Professor Peto.
For the full story, go to the Australia and New Zealand Science Alert.
