A new study funded by a branch of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aims to improve the understanding of asbestos related diseases such as mesothelioma, an aggressive and fatal cancer cause by exposure to asbestos fibers. The study centers around the circumstances of a national tragedy, the asbestos contamination of Libby, Montana, in order to research specific phenomena related to asbestos exposure.
Libby, Montana was placed in a state of emergency a few years ago by the Environmental Protection Agency as a result of the incredible amounts of asbestos debris found in the town. The debris was the product of a local asbestos mining operation which produced two million tons of asbestos each year. In addition to being subject to clouds of asbestos dust belched out by the mining operations, residents of Libby were subjected to piles of unusable asbestos debris discarded throughout the town.
The new study targets individuals who completed the majority of their high school education at Libby High between the years of 1950 and 1999, and who moved permanently to different places after their graduation. By laying out these specific circumstances, the researchers hope to isolate individuals who were exposed to asbestos as children, but whose exposure ceased before adulthood. Around 13,000 former students of Libby High fit the qualifications. Researchers are seeking these graduates out and asking them to submit to a battery of tests including X-rays, CT scans and pulmonary function tests as part of a larger study study concerning the rapidly progressing nature of asbestos diseases in Libby.
Asbestos fibers have long been linked to a variety of different diseases including mesothelioma, a cancer of the protective tissue which encases the body’s organs. When asbestos fibers are accidentally drawn into an individual’s body through inhalation or ingestion, the fibers make their way through the lung or intestinal walls. After becoming entangled in the mesothelium, the protective tissue encasing the organs, the asbestos begins to cause scarring which can lead to the growth of malignant tumors.
Normally, mesothelioma takes decades to develop. In Libby, Montana, however, the disease and others like it have been observed progressing much more rapidly. Dr Stephen Levin of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York expresses concern about asbestos issues in Libby, saying “This progresses much more rapidly than your grandfather’s asbestos-related disease.”
The ambitious study plans to follow Libby High graduates for more than fifty years, periodically documenting their health in an effort to better understand the effects of toxic asbestos exposure in children.
