Mesothelioma

Author: OEHHA

• Most of the information on health effects comes from studies of workers

  exposed regularly to high levels of asbestos. In occupational settings

  all forms of asbestos

  have been shown to cause asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Asbestosis

  is a noncancerous lung disease involving diffuse fibrotic scarring of the

  lungs. Persons with asbestosis can experience progressive shortness of

  breath. Lung

  cancer is associated with asbestos exposures; cigarette smoking and asbestos

  exposure multiply the risk of lung cancer beyond that caused by exposure

  to either of these materials separately. Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer

  of the lining

  of the chest cavity and abdomen.
  

• People have been exposed to asbestos by living with asbestos workers or

  living in the vicinity of asbestos mines and factories. People exposed to

  asbestos in

  such non-occupational settings have also had asbestos-related diseases including

  cancer. While most asbestos-associated cancers are related to the intensity

  and duration of exposure, reports in medical journals have linked some mesotheliomas

  to short exposure periods, on the order of months. Even in these cases, however,

  usually many years (20 years or more) elapse between the time of initial

  exposure

  to asbestos and the development of mesothelioma. In addition, there....[MORE]