INTRODUCTION
History of Asbestos use: Previously viewed as the “magic” or “indispensable” mineral, asbestos, a naturally occurring fibrous mineral, was widely used for centuries due to its unique and attractive characteristics. However, the extensive utilization, mining and distribution did not begin until the mid-20th century, when it started to be a ubiquitous ingredient; used in motor cars, building materials, warships, domestic fabrics to name a few. No other mineral possessed asbestos’s exceptional features; it is electrically non-conductive, resistant to fire, water and chemicals, lightweight, and can be woven into clothes, yet it is abundant and cheap to mine and process.1-3 Its use was also considered vital during World War II.4 Some …show more content…
Asbestosis (a term coined by Thomas Oliver)6 is an incurable irreversible disease that leads patients to gradually suffocate, they typically feel short of breath, may need oxygen bottles and may suffer sharp pain.3 The first to suggest a classification of stages of asbestosis and give full description of diagnosis, prognosis and treatment were Wood and Gloyne in 1930.7 Mesothelioma, a term coined by Adami in 1909,8 is the cancer of the mesothelium.9 Being an extremely rare disease indicates that its occurrence is almost always an indication of asbestos exposure.10 A Canadian study found the incidence of mesothelioma to be 1 in million.11 Pleural mesothelioma in men is largely attributable to asbestos occupational exposure, Attributable Risk (AR) = 88%; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 76-95%.12 Steenland et al concluded that 90% of the mesothelioma is attributable to asbestos exposure, if “take-home” exposure were considered.13 Selikoff found that the incidence of death from mesothelioma was 3% in asbestos insulation workers, which was considered a high incidence for such a rare disease.14 A high risk of mesothelioma was reported in a shipbuilding industry, Relative Risk (RR) = 15.7 (CI: 7, 35) for those exposed to asbestos compared to RR = 4.9 (CI: 2.3, 11.1) for employees not exposed (see appendix 1).15 Studies have also established a dose-response relationship between asbestos exposure and the development of mesothelioma.16,17 The third fatal disease is Lung cancer, it has the same prognosis and treatment regardless of etiology,9 unlike mesothelioma which exhibits a significant difference in length of survival after diagnosis between the asbestos-exposed and the non-exposed (p < 0.01), (see appendix 2).18 Asbestos exposure increased the risk of lung cancer by 17 times compared to non-exposed
History of Asbestos use: Previously viewed as the “magic” or “indispensable” mineral, asbestos, a naturally occurring fibrous mineral, was widely used for centuries due to its unique and attractive characteristics. However, the extensive utilization, mining and distribution did not begin until the mid-20th century, when it started to be a ubiquitous ingredient; used in motor cars, building materials, warships, domestic fabrics to name a few. No other mineral possessed asbestos’s exceptional features; it is electrically non-conductive, resistant to fire, water and chemicals, lightweight, and can be woven into clothes, yet it is abundant and cheap to mine and process.1-3 Its use was also considered vital during World War II.4 Some …show more content…
Asbestosis (a term coined by Thomas Oliver)6 is an incurable irreversible disease that leads patients to gradually suffocate, they typically feel short of breath, may need oxygen bottles and may suffer sharp pain.3 The first to suggest a classification of stages of asbestosis and give full description of diagnosis, prognosis and treatment were Wood and Gloyne in 1930.7 Mesothelioma, a term coined by Adami in 1909,8 is the cancer of the mesothelium.9 Being an extremely rare disease indicates that its occurrence is almost always an indication of asbestos exposure.10 A Canadian study found the incidence of mesothelioma to be 1 in million.11 Pleural mesothelioma in men is largely attributable to asbestos occupational exposure, Attributable Risk (AR) = 88%; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 76-95%.12 Steenland et al concluded that 90% of the mesothelioma is attributable to asbestos exposure, if “take-home” exposure were considered.13 Selikoff found that the incidence of death from mesothelioma was 3% in asbestos insulation workers, which was considered a high incidence for such a rare disease.14 A high risk of mesothelioma was reported in a shipbuilding industry, Relative Risk (RR) = 15.7 (CI: 7, 35) for those exposed to asbestos compared to RR = 4.9 (CI: 2.3, 11.1) for employees not exposed (see appendix 1).15 Studies have also established a dose-response relationship between asbestos exposure and the development of mesothelioma.16,17 The third fatal disease is Lung cancer, it has the same prognosis and treatment regardless of etiology,9 unlike mesothelioma which exhibits a significant difference in length of survival after diagnosis between the asbestos-exposed and the non-exposed (p < 0.01), (see appendix 2).18 Asbestos exposure increased the risk of lung cancer by 17 times compared to non-exposed