Asbestos illnesses killing more women

Asbestos illnesses killing more women

There has been an alarming increase in the number of women dying of an asbestos-related cancer, with low level exposures in non-industrial jobs suspected as the cause. Latest official figures show that mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, is the most rapidly increasing cancer in women. Consultant surgeon John Edwards, an asbestos disease expert who has studied the figures, said: 'We need further research to determine the risk of low level exposure to asbestos. The increase in males is more steady and the fact that the ratio has changed suggests that the pattern of exposure has changed.' The Sheffield lung surgeon told the Mirror newspaper many of the victims had not worked in industries normally associated with asbestos exposure and said the ''perception amongst clinicians'' was that the deadly cancer, which attacks the lining of the lung or abdomen, was the result of ''low level'' exposure', for example exposure to asbestos present in wall and ceiling panels in buildings. The latest Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics show that mesothelioma was mentioned as the cause of death for 384 women in 2008 compared with 1,865 men. In 2007, it was 347 women and 1,826 men. In 2005 it was 289 women and 1,759 men. The official statistics for 2008, the most recent year for which figures are available, show a record 2,249 people died of mesothelioma that year. This is up 46 per cent in the decade from 1998, when 1,541 mesothelioma deaths were recorded.

Daily Mirror. HSE statistics webpages and mesothelioma statistics.