Originally published July 30 2005
Naturally-occurring asbestos causes lung cancer, too, says study
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Exposure to naturally-occurring asbestos might be causing lung cancer, according to a new study on ScienceDaily.com.
Exposure to asbestos in the workplace, particularly in shipyards, has long been recognized as a risk factor for mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer affecting the lining of the lung.
But in the new study, researchers found a consistent and dose-dependent association between mesothelioma and residential proximity to ultramafic rock, the predominant source of naturally occurring asbestos.
"Our findings indicate that the risks from exposure to naturally occurring asbestos, while low, are real and should be taken seriously," said Marc Schenker, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Public Health Sciences and the study's senior author.
About 2,500 people a year die from mesothelioma in the United States, according to National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health statistics.
Ultramafic rock is distributed throughout the Sierra Nevada, Coast Ranges and Klamath Mountains in Northern and Central California, and has been a source of increasing concern as new housing developments cut through these areas.
In their ambitious study, Schenker and his colleagues used California Cancer Registry data to identify 2,908 cases of malignant mesothelioma diagnosed between 1988 and 1997 in adults ages 35 and older.
As a control group, an equal number of age- and gender-matched pancreatic cancer cases was selected (since pancreatic cancer has no known association to asbestos exposure).
For both the mesothelioma and pancreatic cancer cases, the researchers employed sophisticated geographic information system mapping to pinpoint home or street addresses for every diagnosed individual.
Finally, statistical adjustments were made for sex, occupational asbestos exposure and age at diagnosis.
While the overall mesothelioma rate was about one case per 100,000 people per year in the California study, the rate varied markedly by gender and age.
For white males, the rate was 2.29 cases per 100,000.
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