Who's At Risk

The use of asbestos has exposed thousands of unsuspecting workers and their families to this toxic substance. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has stated that it is aware of no instance in which exposure to a toxic substance has more clearly demonstrated deleterious health effects than has asbestos exposure. From 1940 through 1970, approximately 27.5 million individuals had potential asbestos exposure at work. Such a figure is not surprising when one considers that by one estimate, 1.2 billion square feet of asbestos-containing insulation can be found in 190,000 buildings in the United States. It has also been estimated that the number of workers exposed as a consequence of asbestos brake and clutch work is about 900,000.

Workers may be exposed to asbestos in a wide range of job sites and trades, ranging from milling and mining to manufacturing and consumer industries. According to one estimate from the Asbestos Information Association, there are over 3,000 discrete uses of asbestos. These uses have resulted in exposures to through the mining and milling process, in primary and secondary manufacturing of asbestos-containing products, in shipbuilding and repair, and in construction.

Hazardous exposures to asbestos may have also occurred from off-site releases from the mining, milling and manufacture of asbestos products. Such releases may have exposed residents in nearby communities. According to estimates, off-site release from construction sites has resulted in environmental asbestos levels approximately 100 times greater than the levels that naturally occur in the environment.

Additionally, contamination of homes may occur by employees bringing home asbestos contaminated clothing from the workplace. This may expose innocent members of the worker’s family to asbestos. Some believe that the most important current source of non-occupational exposure is the release of fibers from existing asbestos-containing surface materials, such as those in schools, residences and public buildings.

Age Groups

Mesothelioma cancer can have a long latency period between the time of exposure to asbestos fibers and the onset of the actual injury or disease. The latency period can be anywhere between 15 and 50 years, and sometimes even longer. There are also documented cases of mesothelioma cancer with latency periods of less than 15 years. So, a person only recently diagnosed with mesothelioma was probably exposed to asbestos fibers many years ago.

As reported by the National Cancer Institute, there are about 3,000 cases per year of malignant mesothelioma being reported in the USA. The occurrence of mesothelioma appears to be increasing. Mesothelioma is detected in three times as many men than women. For men, the incidence is 10 times higher for men between the ages of 60 and 70 as compared to men between the ages of 30 and 40. Job site exposure to asbestos in America is estimated to have occurred in about eight million workers over the last five decades.