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Asbestos More Likely to Cause Mesothelioma in Men Than in Women, Study Suggests
CRAWLEY, AUSTRALIA — March 16, 2007 — Men exposed to blue asbestos (crocidolite) may be more likely to develop mesothelioma than women who are exposed to the substance, according to an Australian report. Researchers studied the medical histories of 4,786 residents of Wittenoom in Western Australia. Although they never worked in the town’s asbestos mine, these study participants were exposed to asbestos tailings and airborne asbestos when the mine was operated by the Australian Blue Asbestos Company between 1943 and 1966. The asbestos tailings were used to pave roads, parking areas, the school playground and a race course and were spread on the yards of houses to suppress red dust. Mine workers also came home in asbestos–laden clothes, according to the report.
By 2002, 36 men and 31 women in the study developed mesothelioma, including 64 who died from the disease. The death rate from mesothelioma increased with increasing length of residence and cumulative asbestos exposure and was lower for women than for men. After adjustments were made for cumulative asbestos exposure and age, men had four times the rate of mesothelioma compared to that for women. Among the women with mesothelioma, most had lived with men who worked for the Australian Blue Asbestos Company.
The authors did not come to a definite conclusion to account for the gender difference in mesothelioma rates. They did point out that there could be differences in behavior. In Wittenoom, they said, men rather than women usually performed casual labor and gardening around the home, activities that could bring them into contact with asbestos dust. On the other hand, the authors noted that women who lived with Australian Blue Asbestos Company workers were probably exposed to asbestos from that source, yet more men still developed mesothelioma.
One somewhat surprising discovery was that residents who were at least 15 years old when they were first exposed to environmental asbestos were more likely to die of mesothelioma than those who were less than 15 years old when they were initially exposed to asbestos. The study authors said that these children may have had a “more efficient defense mechanism,” but they did not go into detail about the meaning of this phrase.
Libby, An Asbestos–Contaminated Town in the United States
In the United States, the town of Libby, Montana, is home to a vermiculite mine that is contaminated with asbestos. Similar to the situation in Wittenoom, asbestos–laden mine tailings were used to pave Libby roads and parking lots. Asbestos from the mine also found its way into schools and gardens, and asbestos–contaminated vermiculite ore was processed into insulation and soil conditioners. Although the mine was shut down in 1990, the rate of asbestos–related diseases among mine workers, their families and town residents is high.
Local clinics, including the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD), check Libby residents and treat them for asbestos diseases. Libby has been declared a Superfund clean–up area and the government continues to take air samples and monitor homes for asbestos.
Mesothelioma, Asbestos and Your Legal Rights
Brayton Purcell is concerned about both occupational and environmental exposure to asbestos. If you have been exposed to asbestos and developed asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma or another cancer, please feel free to contact us. We have been helping asbestos victims for over 24 years, and offer a free review of your case as well as information and resources.
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