Yeah that’s right. You thought asbestos was gone with 80′s hair? Nope.
MedPage Today reported in December 2008 that despite increased regulation and efforts to minimize occupational exposure to asbestos fibers, younger workers are still getting sick, according to the CDC.
The average number of years of potential life lost before age 65 because of asbestosis was 239.6 from 2001 to 2005, up 64% from the average in 1968 to 1972 (P<0.001 for trend), according to J.M. Mazurek, M.D., and colleagues at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, in the Dec. 12 issue of Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report.
“These results demonstrate that asbestosis-attributable [premature deaths] continue to occur and that efforts to prevent, track, and eliminate asbestosis need to be maintained,” the researchers wrote.
A substantial increase during the 38 year study reflects an increase in asbestosis-related deaths among younger workers. Over the entire study period, researchers counted 9,024 deaths attributed to asbestosis. Of these, 1,169 were in workers ages 25 through 64.
Dr. Mazurek and colleagues said that most occupational exposure to asbestos now occurs during building renovation and demolition and estimated that some 1.3 million construction workers may be exposed annually.
Worksite rules for environments that may contain asbestos now require workers to wear special gear, including full-body “bunny suits” and respirators. It sounds like that isn’t enough, considering efforts to limit occupational asbestos exposure began decades ago.
Because several decades typically elapse between asbestos exposure and death from asbestosis, “much of the continuing [premature death] likely is attributed to exposures experienced decades ago,” the MMWR editors wrote.
