Originally published July 27 2005
Mesothelioma linked to asbestos in soil by UC-Davis study
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A University of California-Davis study has shown that where people live can put them at risk for mesothelioma if they have asbestos in their soil.
It's long been known that certain kinds of workers, from plumbers to shipyard laborers, are exposed to potentially deadly asbestos at a higher rate than the general public.
But a recent study has found that where you live increases your risk as well.
The study of naturally occurring asbestos by a team from the University of California-Davis Department of Public Health Sciences examined every case of a kind of lung cancer called malignant mesothelioma in California for a 10-year period -- nearly 3,000 in all -- and tracked where patients lived.
``People who lived closer to an asbestos source had a greater chance of having mesothelioma,'' the study found, ``and the chance decreased steadily as the distance increased'' -- about 6.3 percent for every 6.2 miles.
About the same number of people nationwide die from exposure to secondhand smoke.
But it's harder to figure out how to eliminate proximity to asbestos as a risk factor, the study authors said.
``Dust is a little more challenging for us to tackle than passive smoking,'' said biostatistician and co-author Laurel Beckett.
In California, those formations are found mostly in the Sierra Nevada and its foothills and in the coastal range.
The UC-Davis study, to be published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine this fall, did not suggest that neighborhoods built on potentially asbestos-bearing soil should be moved.
It has found 17 actual or potential school sites, including Ramblewood Elementary in San Jose, that sit atop soils that could be rich in asbestos.
The study represents progress, said Schenker, ``in that it adds a critical piece to our scientific understanding.
``Remember,'' he added, ``it's still a rare cancer.'' In El Dorado County, the rate of mesothelioma is about two cases a year.
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