Mesothelioma and Maintenance Work
Current exposures to commercial asbestos in the United States occur predominantly during maintenance operations...
Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) March 08, 2017
A new report on malignant mesothelioma mortality in the US suggests that people who maintain or renovate asbestos-containing buildings now have the highest asbestos exposure of any current workers, which may increase their risk for deadly malignant mesothelioma. Surviving Mesothelioma has just posted an article on the report. Click here to read the details.
The report, entitled “Malignant Mesothelioma Mortality - United States, 1999 - 2015”, shows that the number of malignant mesothelioma deaths was higher at the close of the survey than it was in 1999, despite regulations in place designed to protect workers from the health risks of asbestos.
“Current exposures to commercial asbestos in the United States occur predominantly during maintenance operations and remediation of older buildings containing asbestos,” writes lead report author Jacek Mazurek, MD, PhD, of NIOSH.
OSHA and the EPA have established guidelines for people whose work could expose them to asbestos in order to minimize mesothelioma risk, and the report warns against becoming complacent in the enforcement of these guidelines.
“Unfortunately, as this report makes clear, just because asbestos and mesothelioma are not making headlines the way they did in the 60s and 70s does not mean that the threat has disappeared,” says Alex Strauss, Managing Editor for Surviving Mesothelioma. “If anything, it is even more critical to stay vigilant now as asbestos-containing buildings age and their asbestos becomes friable.”
To read more details about the CDC study’s findings on malignant mesothelioma, see Maintenance Work Can Carry a High Mesothelioma Risk, now available on the Surviving Mesothelioma website.
Mazurek, J, et al, “Malignant Mesothelioma Mortality - United States, 1999-2015”, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, March 3, 2017, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pp. 214 - 218, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6608a3.htm?s_cid=mm6608a3_w#contribAff
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