At Risk Jobs and Locations
It is inhalation of asbestos fibers which can cause mesothelioma or asbestos lung cancer. Even low exposure levels of the tiny fibers or asbestos dust are very dangerous. After the 1980's workplace exposure to asbestos became more rare, but it can take up to 40 years for signs of mesothelioma asbestos lung cancer are noticed.
Most patients were exposed to asbestos fibers on the job or in the workplace in what is known as occupational exposure. Another form of exposure is called paraoccupational exposure. This form of asbestos exposure can be harder to determine the source, but it is usually contracted by a family member of someone who has been exposed in the workplace.
Typically the family member is exposed to asbestos dust or fibers from the worker's clothing, and when the clothing is handled the dust is released and inhaled. Family members that are exposed in this way, may be exposed to smaller amounts, but are still very much at risk.
In the same way, those that have homes or work work near facilities that have asbestos may also be at risk even though there is not obvious direct contact. The fine asbestos dust can easily be carried by the wind over long distances.
In the past, some of the industries that could have been a source of asbestos were factories, shipyards, power plants, oil refineries, steel manufacturing plants, and any company or job site involved with construction or the removal of old building materials. Often the demolition of buildings that contain asbestos can release the dust into the environment, and trucks hauling the materials can further spread the fine asbestos fibers.
Likewise, people who live near these types of sites likely to have asbestos around the facility are also at risk: refineries, power plants, factories, shipyards, steel mills and building demolition are types of work sites that can release asbestos fibers into the environment and contaminate nearby residential neighborhoods.
Trades:
- Manufacturing of asbestos products (insulation, roofing, building,
materials)
- Vehicle repair (brakes & clutches)
- Construction workers and contractors
- Maritime workers
- Miners and drillmen
- Offshore rust removals
- Oil refinery workers
- Power plants
- Railway workers
- Sand or abrasive manufacturers
- Shipyards / ships / ship builders
- Steel mills
- Tile cutters
Occupations:
- Auto Mechanics
- Boiler makers
- Bricklayers
- Building Inspectors
- Carpenters
- Drywallers
- Electricians
- Floor Coverings
- Furnace Workers
- Glazers
- Grinders
- Hod carriers
- Insulators
- Iron workers
- Laborers
- Longshoremen
- Maintenance workers
- Merchant marines
- Millwrights
- Operating Engineers
- Painters
- Plasterers
- Plumbers
- Roofers
- Sand blasters
- Sheet metal workers
- Steam fitters
- Tile setters
- Welders
- United States Navy veterans
- Welders
Many occupations have an increased risk for developing lung
cancer. For example, asbestos insulation workers have 92 times
the risk of developing of lung cancer, and smelter workers
have 3-8 times the risk of developing lung cancer. The risk
of lung cancer is also increased in people who work in the
manufacturing of certain industrial gases, pharmaceuticals,
soaps and detergents, paints, inorganic pigments, plastics,
and synthetic rubber. The risk of developing lung cancer is
related to the amount of exposure to the cancer-causing agent.
For example, the risk of lung cancer in humans is proportional
to the number of cigarettes smoked. The risk of developing
lung cancer is 8-20 times greater in smokers compared to people
who have never smoked. A smaller, but real risk exists for
cigar and pipe smokers. Some lung cancer causing agents react together
to significantly worsen the risk of developing cancer. The
combined exposure to asbestos
and tobacco smoke clearly multiplies the risk of developing
lung cancer.
The risk of lung cancer is greater for those
living in urban areas. This risk is approximately 1.2 to 2.3
times that of people living in rural areas. There is also
an increased risk of lung cancer in smokers whose close relatives
have had lung cancer. Scarring in the lungs from previous
infections or injury can be associated with and increased
risk of cancer.
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