Staatssecretaris van Hoof van SZW antwoordt op kamervragen van CDA lid Rambocus en Pvda leden Stuurman en Van Dijken over het overtreden van asbestregels door malafide asbestverwijderaars.
Bron: Overheid.nieuwsbank.nl, 12 mei 2005. Meer http://overheid.nieuwsbank.nl/inp/2005/05/12/r335.htm?fmt=OVH_NEW
De Sociaal-Economische Raad heeft advies uitgebracht over een nieuw grenswaardenstelsel voor gevaarlijke stoffen, waaronder asbest. Belangrijkste winstpunt: meer duidelijkheid. Wanneer de overheid het SER-advies overneemt, weet een werknemer straks beter dan nu wanneer zijn gezondheid risico loopt. Nu wordt de grens (of MAC-waarde) de ene keer vastgesteld op basis van het gezondheidskundige risico en de andere keer op basis van de technische of economische haalbaarheid van de norm. Bron: Arbobondgenoten.nl, SER, 16 juni 2005.
Meer http://www.ser.nl/publicaties/default.asp?Desc=pers_20050616
In Woodstock werd in 1985 asbestvervuiling ontdekt in het drinkwater. Dit kwam door asbestcementpijpen die half jaren 50 waren geïnstalleerd. De kankerstatistieken van Woodstock werden over de periode 1980-1998 vergeleken met nationale gegevens. Er werd geen relatie met asbest gevonden.
Bron: Browne, M. L. et al. (2005). Environmental research. vol. 98 (2005), afl. 2, pag. 224-232 (9)
Cancer incidence and asbestos in drinking water, Town of Woodstock, New York, 1980#x0201.1998
Browne, Marilyn L.. Varadarajulu, Deepa. Lewis-Michl, Elizabeth L.. Fitzgerald, Edward F. / In: Environmental research. vol. 98 (2005), afl. 2, pag. 224-232 (9) / 2005
Abstract
Late in 1985, asbestos contamination was discovered in the public water supply of the Town of Woodstock, Ulster County, New York. Contamination resulted from asbestos’cement pipes installed in the town water system in the mid to late 1950s and the corrosiveness of the local water. The New York State (NYS) Department of Health established the Woodstock Asbestos Exposure Registry (WAER) in 1986 to monitor rates of cancer among individuals who lived on the water supply between 1960 and 1985. Demographic, health, and residential information were collected on 2936 registrants. The follow-up period for observation of cancer was 1980-1998, consistent with the expected lag of 20-30+ years for development of asbestos-related cancers. The NYS Cancer Registry was used to ascertain cancer diagnoses. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for gastrointestinal, respiratory, and total cancers were all approximately 1.00 or less and all 95% confidence intervals (CIs) included 1.00. For individual types of the gastrointestinal cancers, only the SIR for pancreatic cancer was marginally statistically significant at 2.19 (95% CI=1.00-4.16), based on a total of nine observed cases. The excess in pancreatic cancer occurred primarily among men (SIR=3.08. 95% CI=1.13-6.70) and was only slightly elevated among women (SIR=1.39. 95% CI=0.29-4.06). This association may be related to factors other than asbestos exposure such as occupation and lifestyle or to chance. No cases of mesothelioma were observed among WAER participants. There was no increase in incidence by latency or duration of residence on the water supply, but the ability to detect these trends is limited by small numbers and unknown dates of initial exposure. The general pattern of results did not demonstrate a likely link between exposure to asbestos in drinking water and cancer occurrence among participants in the WAER.
Toezichthouders asbestsloop (DTA’ers) komen soms in de knel door de druk van aannemers om het werk sneller af te maken. Dat gaat volgens een rapport van de Inspectie Werk en Inkomen (IWI) ten koste van de veiligheid van werknemers en omgeving.
Bron: Persbericht Inspectie Werk en Inkomen, 3 mei
De International Labour Organization meldt dat elk jaar meer dan 2 miljoen mensen overlijden aan een ziekte of ongeluk door werk. Vooral in landen als Brazilië, Mexico en China stijgt het aantal doden snel. Asbest is verantwoordelijk voor ongeveer 5% van alle sterfgevallen door werk ( 100.000 per jaar). Bron: ILO, 21 mei 2005.
Meer http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2005/21.htm
Tot vijf jaar geleden kwamen asbestziektes in Zuid Australië alleen voor bij mensen die beroepsmatig met asbest in aanraking waren geweest. De laatste jaren melden zich steeds meer mensen die ziek geworden zijn doordat ze ongeveer 30 jaar geleden aan de verbouwing van hun huis hebben gewerkt.
Bron: Sunday Mail, 10 april 2005.
Sunday Mail (SA)
April 10, 2005 Sunday
HEADLINE: Next wave of victims.Asbestos link to renovators
RECORD numbers of South Australian asbestos victims are being diagnosed with the killer disease mesothelioma as more deaths are linked to exposure to fibres in the home.
Health Department figures show the number of people suffering the terminal illness have steadily climbed from eight in 1977 to now peak at more than 50 annually.
Adelaide lawyers are reporting more clients now seeking compensation from asbestos manufacturers following exposure during home renovations.
They say such victims were almost non-existent five years ago.
SA Asbestos Victims Association secretary Terry Miller said renovators from the 1970s and their children were now starting to develop the respiratory disease, which took about 30 years to develop.
“The thing that worries us now is the people doing home renovations,” Mr Miller said.
“It might be young people doing a home renovation and there might be a little child crawling around on the floor and that child might not know for 20 years the parents . . . handed this child a death sentence.
“In this state now we have an unwanted record for mesothelioma cases per capita in the world.”
Only Western Australia has a higher rate of mesothelioma per capita than SA.
Thousands of SA properties, including schools, office buildings, houses and Housing Trust properties are riddled with asbestos, which can be dangerous if disturbed without care.
Asbestos law firm Slater and Gordon says renovators are the “third wave” of asbestos victims, following miners and manufacturers.
“What we are finding is that people who had very small exposure such as adding on a room to the house or putting in a cubby house or sanding back and painting eaves on houses, those people 30 years later are developing mesothelioma,” laywer Jane McDermott, an asbestos specialist with the firm, said.
About 30 per cent of the firm’s current clients – or about 20 victims – were exposed in the home, often to asbestos sheeting made at the James Hardie factory at Elizabeth after 1960.
Law firm Turner Freeman is acting for 10 South Australians who are dying of mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while renovating.
“The first home renovation cases we did were five or six years ago,” a partner in the firm, Tanya Segelov, said.
“Up to a quarter of mesothelioma cases would now be home renovation cases. When we were doing this work 10 years ago it was all workers.
“It’s not so much the asbestos in the industry now that will kill people it’s the asbestos in the home.”
Asbestos victims were typically workers at James Hardie, the Whyalla shipyards and city buildings, including old department stores, which were sprayed with asbestos, Ms Segelov said.
A total of 742 South Australians have been officially diagnosed with mesothelioma since the Health Department began compiling the rates in 1977.
Other asbestos diseases such as asbestosis are not recorded by the department.
Het aantal mensen dat in het Verenigd Koninkrijk in de periode 1968 tot 2001 aan mesothelioom is overleden is gestegen van 153 in 1968 tot 1848 in 2001. Naar schatting zal dit aantal oplopen tot 1950-2450 gevallen per jaar tussen 2011 en 2015 en daarna snel afnemen.De aandoening komt het meest voor in regio’s waar in het verleden veel met asbest is gewerkt. Het komt steeds vaker voor bij mensen die in de secundaire asbestindustrie hebben gewerkt, zoals loodgieters, timmermannen en electriciens. Het totaal aantal sterfgevallen wordt in de periode 1968-2050 geschat op ongeveer 90.000, waarvan 65.000 na 2001.
Bron: Mcelvenny, D.M. et al.(2005. Occupational medicine, 55, 2, 79-87 + the British journal of cancer, 92, 3, 587-593(7).
Mesothelioma mortality in Great Britain from 1968 to 2001
Damien M. McElvenny, Andrew J. Darnton, Malcolm J. Price and John T. Hodgson
Health & Safety Executive – Epidemiology and Medical Statistics Unit, Stanley Precinct, Bootle, Merseyside L20 3QZ, UK
Background. The British mesothelioma register contains all deaths from 1968 to 2001 where mesothelioma was mentioned on the death certificate.
Aims. To present summary statistics of the British mesothelioma epidemic including summaries by occupation and geographical area.
Methods. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated for local authorities, unitary authorities and counties. Temporal trends in SMRs were also examined. Proportional mortality ratios (PMRs) were calculated using the Southampton (based on the 1980 standard occupational classification) coding scheme. Temporal trends in PMRs were also examined.
Results The annual number of mesothelioma deaths has increased from 153 in 1968 to 1848 in 2001. Current deaths in males account for about 85% of the cases. The areas of West Dunbartonshire (SMR 637), Barrow-in-Furness (593), Plymouth (396) and Portsmouth (388) have the highest SMRs over the period 1981-2000. The occupations with the highest PMRs are metal plate workers (PMR 503), vehicle body builders (526), plumbers and gas fitters (413) and carpenters (388).
Conclusions. These data reinforce earlier findings that geographical areas and occupations associated with high exposure to asbestos in the past continue to drive the mesothelioma epidemic in Great Britain. However, the trends over time suggest a change in the balance of risk away from traditional asbestos exposure industries to industries where one could describe the exposure as secondary, such as plumbers and gas fitters, carpenters, and electricians.
The expected burden of mesothelioma mortality in Great Britain from 2002 to 2050
Hodgson, J.T.. Mcelvenny, D.M.. Darnton, A.J.. Price, M.J.. Peto, J. / In: The British journal of cancer. vol. 92 (2005), afl. 3, pag. 587-593 (7) / 2005
The British mesothelioma register contains all deaths from 1968 to 2001 where mesothelioma was mentioned on the death certificate. These data were used to predict the future burden of mesothelioma mortality in Great Britain. Poisson regression analysis was used to model male mesothelioma deaths from 1968 to 2001 as a function of the rise and fall of asbestos exposure during the 20th century, and hence to predict numbers of male deaths in the years 2002-2050. The annual number of mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain has risen increasingly rapidly from 153 deaths in 1968 to 1848 in 2001 and, using our preferred model, is predicted to peak at around 1950 to 2450 deaths per year between 2011 and 2015. Following this peak, the number of deaths is expected to decline rapidly. The eventual death rate will depend on the background level and any residual asbestos exposure. Between 1968 and 2050, there will have been approximately 90 000 deaths from mesothelioma in Great Britain, 65 000 of which will occur after 2001.
32 Dossiers van huisgenoten werden bestudeerd op gemeenschappelijke kenmerken. In 15 gevallen ging het om de echtgenote, in 11 om de dochter van de man die met asbest had gewerkt. Het betrof 27 gevallen van longvlies- en 5 gevallen van buikvlieskanker. De latentietijd was in 27 gevallen langer dan 40 jaar geweest.
Bron: Miller, Albert (2005). American journal of industrial medicine. vol. 47, afl. 5, pag. 458-462 (5)
Mesothelioma in household members of asbestos-exposed workers : 32 United States cases since 1990
Miller, Albert / In: American journal of industrial medicine. vol. 47 (2005), afl. 5, pag. 458-462 (5) / 2005
Abstract
Background
Mesothelioma is significant as an indicator of asbestos exposure, as a continuing major cause of death in those exposed, and as a risk following lesser exposures. One such exposure is living in the household of an asbestos worker, and coming into contact with fibers brought home on his/her body, clothing, etc.
Methods
Law firms throughout the US known for their pursuit of asbestos claims were polled for mesothelioma claims brought on behalf of family members of identifiable asbestos-exposed workers. Cases with any occupational, environmental, or other possible exposure were not included.
Results
This study reports 32 household-exposure mesothelioma cases, diagnosed since 1990. Relationships were wife (15), daughter (11), son (3), sister-in law (1), niece (1), and boarder (1). Occupations of the workers included shipyard (13), insulator (7), and other (12). Of the 27 pleural cases, 13 were epithelial, 5 fibrous, 3 biphasic, and 6 not specified. of the 5 peritoneal cases, 4 were epithelial and 1 fibrous. Latency was greater than 40 years in 27 cases. 6 cases were 40-49 years of age and 17 were 60 or older.
Conclusions
Records from law firms were a useful source of information. Mesothelioma resulting from household exposure is a continuing problem. It is more likely to present in the elderly, after latencies of >40 years. Am. J. Ind. Med. 47:458-462, 2005.
Het ministerie van VROM heeft 47 miljoen euro ter beschikking gesteld voor de schoonmaak van ongeveer 1000 met asbest vervuilde locaties in het gebied rond de voormalige asbestfabrieken van Goor en Harderwijk. Bron: provincie Overijssel, juni 2005.
Alpha-TOS, een soort vitamine E, heeft in experimenten met muizen mesothelioomkankercellen gedood en de groei van tumoren tegengehouden, zegt de Australische celbioloog Dr. Neuzil. Hij hoopt dat het middel over ongeveer 2 jaar bij mensen kan worden getest.
Bron: The Courier Mail, Daily Telegraph, 23 mei 2005.
The Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia)
May 23, 2005 Monday
HEADLINE: Vitamin cancer treatment hope
BODY:
A VITAMIN E-related compound may kill deadly cancer cells caused by asbestos exposure, says an Australian cell biologist who has already established its success in trials using mice.
Gold Coast-based Griffith University researcher Jiri Neuzil said alpha-TOS, which is closely related to vitamin E, killed mesothelioma cancer cells in experiments with mice.
Most victims of mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that destroys a protective membrane covering internal organs including the lungs, have inhaled asbestos particles.
Dr Neuzil said alpha-TOS also halted growth of mesothelioma tumours, for which there is currently no cure, under a five-year study involving researchers from Australia, Italy and the Czech Republic.
He said the compound had also showed hints of suppressing breast cancer, melanoma, lung cancer and colon cancer tumours in animal experiments. Dr Neuzil said alpha-TOS would ultimately be put to the test in human trials, which he hoped to begin within two years.
Alpha-TOS was selective because it pursued mesothelioma cancer cells but caused only minor damage, if any, to normal cells in mice, he said.
Dr Neuzil said he stumbled on the compound’s promising qualities “by mistake five years ago.
