Mesothelioma

According to a British study one out of ten Australian carpenters that were born before 1950 will die of mesothelioma between the years of 2000 and 2050. Professor Julian Peto - the Cancer research specialist - put together her findings while researching the lifetime pccupations of 600 mesothelioma patients.

Prof Peto said the cause of mesothelioma was not restricted to the deadly blue asbestos, also known as crocidolite, but to brown asbestos (amosite) which was used in building products in Australia and Britain until the 1980s. Brown asbestos was a major component in most asbestos cement sheeting and roofing used in the building industry. “I think that is one of the things that’s largely been missed in much of the discussion on mesothelioma,” Prof Peto said.

“The use of these products was completely uncontrolled. “Carpenters would chop it up with power saws without much concern at all.
“And this was after we became aware of the dangers of blue asbestos.” Prof Peto’s research also revealed that Australia and the UK have the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world, with 600 cases per year in Australia and almost 2,000 in Britain, and figures are rising. He said that 10 per cent of Australian carpenters born before 1950 were likely to die of asbestos-related cancers.

The rate for Australia and the UK is more than five times that of the United States, mainly because of different construction methods, Prof Peto said. Prof Peto’s research also questions why it was once believed that asbestos exposure below a certain threshold would be safe. The professor was due to deliver the Miegunyah Public Lecture at Melbourne University on Tuesday night.