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ABOUT MESOTHELIOMA & ASBESTOS EXPOSURE

WHAT IS MESOTHELIOMA? - Mesothelioma is a serious cancer that occurs in individuals exposed to asbestos. Mesothelioma victims have either inhaled or swallowed asbestos fibers which then travel through the lung and become lodged in the pleura (the thin, saran wrap-type membrane lining the lungs.) Each year 2,500 to 4,000 patients in the U.S. are diagnosed with mesothelioma and asbestos-related diseases.

WHO IS AT RISK FOR MESOTHELIOMA? - While many uses for asbestos were banned in the mid-1970’s, the risk from exposure continues today due to mesothelioma’s long latency (inactive) period of anywhere between 15 – 50 years. Today, asbestos continues to be a threat to workers exposed through their occupations and in buildings that were erected prior to the ban. Experts predict that mesothelioma diagnoses will continue to increase in the United States for at least another 10 to 20 years.

Asbestos fibers are so toxic, that industrial and trade worker’s families may be exposed to mesothelioma through particles that cling to the worker’s clothing, shoes, skin and hair. This type of “second-hand” exposure to asbestos is known as Para occupational exposure.