Asbestos And Mesothelioma

The link between asbestos and mesothelioma was first reported in a study of German asbestos workers conducted in 1943. Although this study found a link between lung scarring caused by asbestos fibres - known as asbestosis - and cancer in the mesothelial cells of the lungs and chest, it wasn't until the 1960's that the link between asbestos and mesothelioma began to become widely recognised by the medical community. 

Asbestos: It may look harmless, but if inhaled or ingested it can lead to serious health problems. 

Asbestos: It may look harmless, but if inhaled or ingested it can lead to serious health problems. 

It took even longer for the general population and industry to take notice of the results, with asbestos being widely used in the Australian housing industry up until 1990. A total asbestos ban was put in place in Australia in 2003 but in many parts of the world, such as Russia, it is still legal to use and even mine asbestos. 

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the body's mesothelial cells (the cells that cover most of the body's internal organs) and is caused by exposure to asbestos. This exposure could occur from inhalation or ingestion; usually by undertaking renovations, through contaminated talcum powder or through work. 

There are three types of Mesothelioma, all of which are fatal, and can take anywhere between 10-50 years to develop. 

Pleural Mesothelioma is the most common, accounting for 80-90% of all mesothelioma cases. It occurs when asbestos damages the pleural lining that surrounds the lungs and chest. As it is a respiratory condition symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, fluid in the lungs (known as pleural effusion) and a dry cough.

Diagram of how Pleural Mesothelioma affects the lungs.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma is the second most common type of mesothelioma and each year just under 500 people are diagnosed with this condition globally. This type of mesothelioma occurs when asbestos damages the peritoneum - the thin membrane surrounding the abdomen. Individuals diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma usually have a higher rate of survival than those with one of the other two kinds. 

Pericardial Mesothelioma, like the name implies, effects the lining surrounding the heart cavity. Because it is extremely rare, the prognosis for patients with this type of mesothelioma is usually around six months. 

Home renovators should be cautious of asbestos. 

Home renovators should be cautious of asbestos. 

Even though asbestos has been banned here for close to 15 years, Australia still has one of the highest rates of Mesothelioma in the world. In Australia 759 cases were diagnosed in 2014, and a further 675 cases were diagnosed in 2015.

This high rate of mesothelioma is primarily due to the high amount of asbestos in our existing housing supply and our nation's love of home renovations. If you suspect your house might contain asbestos, don't try and remove it yourself, do the safe thing and call in an accredited assessor or a licensed asbestos removal contractor. 

Related Articles

Five Unexpected Places Asbestos Could Be Hiding In Your Home.

Five Unexpected Places Asbestos Could Be Hiding In Your Home.

The Emotional Toll Of Asbestos Exposure.

Discussions around the negative health impacts of asbestos exposure usually begin and end with discussions about the negative effects on an individual's physical health.

Obviously the physical symptoms and extreme pain associated with conditions like mesothelioma shouldn’t be downplayed, but by only focusing on these physical symptoms we exclude the emotional and mental struggles of those diagnosed with asbestos related diseases. 

Getting a mesothelioma diagnosis is a very shocking and stressful experince. 

Getting a mesothelioma diagnosis is a very shocking and stressful experince. 

Currently, not a lot of research has been done on the mental and emotional strain experienced by those suffering from the physical affects of asbestos exposure. To help amend this and provide some ideas for new research, a literature review of exisiting research was published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 

Below is a brief overview of some of the important points from the literature review:

Even just being exposed to asbestos can bring mental anguish: Just knowing you have been exposed to asbestos, and therefore could have asbestos fibres in your body, causes mental distress. This distress can take the form of depression, anxiety and anger.

Mesothelioma causes significant mental and emotional distress: Not surprisingly, all existing research indicates that living with mesothelioma is extremely stressful. This stress starts at diagnosis, with studies documenting stress reactions such as shock, anxiety, depression and anger. 

Asbestos fibres: Small but deadly

Asbestos fibres: Small but deadly

Something that can help to alleviate this stress is having access to medical health professionals with strong communication skills and experience treating mesothelioma patients. 

More research needs to be done: The biggest take home from the literature review was just how little research has been done on the topic. Indeed, the take home from all of this is how much more research work needs to be done to look after those suffering from the devastating effects of asbestos exposure. 

Related Articles 

Audit Reveals A Majority Of Australian Schools Contain Asbestos

Although the use, manufacture and importing of asbestos and asbestos based products has been banned in Australia since 2003, our nation's past enthusiasm for the dangerous mineral continues to haunt us to this day. The repercussions of Australia's previous wide-ranging and liberal use of asbestos can be felt both in our high rates of mesothelioma and our legacy of buildings containing the deadly mineral.

Asbestos can still be found lurking in the family home (mainly those built or renovated before 1980), in iconic buildings such as the Sydney Opera House, and most troublingly, in Australia's public schools.

asbestos in schools.jpg

A recent  audit has found that a majority of Australia's schools contain asbestos based products. In Victoria for example, out of the 1,712 schools inspected, only 39 were found to be free of the dangerous mineral.

In New South Wales it was a similar story; asbestos was present in hundreds of schools in Northern NSW, mainly in the form of roof tiles, roof sheeting and external window panels. 

These findings are concerning as all forms of asbestos pose a serious risk to human health. Inhaling the substance is linked to cancers such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, cancer of the larynx and even ovarian cancer. 

Obviously, individuals of any age are vulnerable to the side-effects of asbestos exposure; however, children are particularly at risk for a couple of different reasons:

  • Children breathe in more rapidly than adults as their lungs are still developing. This means they are more likely to breathe in any deadly asbestos fibres that are present in the air.
  • Due to the delayed onset of most cancers caused by asbestos - particularly mesothelioma which can take 30 years for symptoms to develop - asbestos poses a greater risk to a child's life expectancy than to an adult's. Children are estimated to be 3.5 times more likely to develop mesothelioma than adults. 
  • Children are at a higher likelihood of asbestos exposure because of their active play habits  that could disturb or damage asbestos containing products. 
If disturbed, asbestos fibres can become airborne and are easily inhaled. 

If disturbed, asbestos fibres can become airborne and are easily inhaled. 

In order to reduce the likelihood of students and staff being exposed to asbestos, all Australian state governments require schools containing asbestos to have an asbestos management plan in place. This plan must be in line with the 2011 Federal Work, Health and Safety Act and involves any area found to be contaminated with asbestos being fenced off. 

In response to the high amount of schools containing asbestos, the Victorian government has pledged $155 million towards removing asbestos from its state schools with the ambitious goal of making all state schools asbestos-free by 2020. This involves both the removal of asbestos where possible and the demolition of buildings too contaminated with asbestos to simply have the substance removed. 

Infographic outlining the Victorian Government's plan to rid schools of asbestos, courtesy of the Victorian Government School Building Authority.

Infographic outlining the Victorian Government's plan to rid schools of asbestos, courtesy of the Victorian Government School Building Authority.

The Victorian government's plan commenced in the first half of 2016 and prioritised 'high risk' buildings, which have all since been removed.

Here's hoping the rest of Australia's state governments follow suit soon so we can rid all our schools of this dangerous materal.

Related Content

Australia and Asbestos: Where Are We Now?

November saw the release of the National Asbestos profile (NAP), a report that collates a huge range of information and research to reflect the impact of asbestos in Australia. The profile includes a broad range of information on existing regulation controlling asbestos, rates of asbestos related diseases in Australia as well as our country's past relationship with this dangerous mineral. 

Australian asbestos miners mining blue asbestos in Wittenoom gorge, circa 1950. 

Australian asbestos miners mining blue asbestos in Wittenoom gorge, circa 1950. 

Although certainly a dense read, the profile provides an in depth view on our nation's current relationship with asbestos and it is definitely recommended reading for anyone working in the asbestos removal industry. 

But if you don't have a spare hour to read it (yep, it's a long slog) then fear not, we have read it so you don't have to! Below we have summarised some of the profile's key insights:

  • Hands down, the standout messages of the report was the ongoing harmful effects of Australia's past asbestos use. Although the Australia government instituted a total ban on asbestos in 2003, we still have one of the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world. If nothing else, the Australian experience illustrates that asbestos use can still haunt a nation long after the substance has been banned.
  • As the 2003 asbestos ban was not retroactive, many asbestos containing products still exist in the community. Between 2008 and 2014 approximately 400,000 tonnes of asbestos were disposed of. That's 20kg for each person in Australia! As of 2016 an estimated 44% of consumed asbestos remained and we are on track to reduced it to 10% by 2055. 
Graph courtesy of the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency. 

Graph courtesy of the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency. 

  • Overall Australia has good multilevel asbestos management in place, spanning local, state/ territory and federal government. The Australian Government is an international leader in advocating a worldwide ban on asbestos and has pushed for chrysotile asbestos to be included in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention. 
  • As previously mentioned, Australia has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma and since 2011 an average of 701 people have been diagnosed with the deadly condition each year. It is predicted that by 2021, 19,400 new cases of mesothelioma will have been diagnosed
  • Approximately one in five renovations requires asbestos to be removed. Although some of these asbestos removal jobs are carried out by trained professionals, one third of home renovators remove the asbestos themselves. This puts Australia at risk of a 'third wave' of asbestos exposure.
Asbestos awareness month happens every November and is a reminder to home renovators to look out for asbestos. 

Asbestos awareness month happens every November and is a reminder to home renovators to look out for asbestos. 

  • A small number of goods containing asbestos continue to be imported into Australia every year. This is mainly due to some international certifications of 'asbestos free' being unreliable. 

Well, there you have it! A brief overview of  the relationship between Australia and asbestos in 2017.

Sure, we still have some significant hurdles to overcome, but it looks like a bright, asbestos-free future is in store for our nation as long as we treat asbestos with the caution it deserves. 

If you are feeling ambitious you can read the full report here. 

Related Articles