The National Institutes of Health recently reported the results of one of the longest-running studies of British asbestos workers ever completed: mortality among British asbestos workers undergoing regular medical examinations (1971-2005). The results: the previously known connection between asbestos exposure and deaths from lung, peritoneal and pleural cancers, mesothelioma, and asbestosis were again confirmed.
98,117 workers were studied from 1971-2005. They completed medical examinations and a brief questionnaire. Participants were also “flagged” for death registration and those records, including cause of death and medical history, were reviewed. 15,496 deaths were reported and the death rate, or standardized mortality rate (SMR), for diseases were:
- Stomach cancer: 166
- Lung cancer: 187
- Peritoneal cancer: 3,730
- Pleural cancer: 968
- Mesothelioma: 513
- Asbestosis: 5,594
These SMRs were reported to be “statistically significantly elevated.” We heartily agree! In fact, we believe that the thousands of deaths caused by asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma should never have happened.
Asbestos exposure and mesothelioma are preventable. However, the people responsible for preventing it, companies that made, sold, and/or utilized asbestos and asbestos products, failed their workers, the users of their products, and many innocent bystanders by refusing to warn about the dangers of asbestos exposure and making products that put high levels of asbestos in the air to be breathed in and swallowed.
This study adds to the gigantic pile of evidence against these asbestos product manufacturers. It also is a devastating reminder of the countless men, women, and children whose lives have been destroyed by the greed of asbestos companies.
SEG Law’s mesothelioma attorneys believe that even one asbestos or mesothelioma death is too many. And we stand strong to protect the rights of victims because the companies that should have been protecting them failed them.
Tags: asbestos, mesothelioma, study results
