Mesothelioma Deaths to peak in 2010

Deaths from mesothelioma are expected to peak around 2010 according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The number of deaths has been on the increase lately, going from 2,482 in 1999 to 2,704 in 2005. However, the annual mortality rate stayed the same at 14 deaths per 1 million people. The authors of the study wrote, “Because mesothelioma manifests 20 to 40 years after first exposure, the number of mesothelioma deaths will likely peak by 2010.”

They also say that asbestos is legally being imported for use in certain construction and transportation products.

The Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of asbestos in types of residential and commercial insulation materials in 1975. Then in 1989, they tried to put a total ban on asbestos but it was overturned on appeal in federal court in 1991.

“An estimated 1.3 million construction and general industry workers potentially are being exposed to asbestos,” the authors wrote. They have determined that 18,068 people died from mesothelioma from 1999 to 2005 with men accounting for 81% and whites for 95 percent. They also learned that the death rate rose with age. People under 45 accounted for 311 deaths whereas people older than 75 accounted for 8,858 deaths.

As recently as 2003, 20 percent of air samples in the construction industry exceeded the permissible exposure limit set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1971. “Ensuring a future decrease in mesothelioma morality requires meticulous control of exposures to asbestos and other materials that might cause mesothelioma,” the authors concluded.

Like some lung cancer and asbestosis, mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Because of its long latency, a mesothelioma diagnosis is usually fatal within 18 months.