An Italian study has released worrisome results about the incidence of mesothelioma in the spouses of workers with exposure to asbestos. The study analyzed mesothelioma rates from one asbestos cement factory in Broni, Italy, between 2000 and 2011.
In that time period, 147 cases of mesothelioma were discovered amongst the workers, their families and people who lived in close proximity to the cement factory. Workers made up 38 of those 147 cases.
It was reported that 37 more cases were found in the workers’ families, a large percentage of them wives of factory workers. It is suspected that these exposures occurred due to wives handling their husbands’ dirty work clothes and breathing in asbestos fibers from them.
But perhaps the most alarming result of this study came from looking at people who did not work at the factory. It was found that just about half of the studied mesothelioma victims had no connection to the cement factory. Simply by living nearby, 72 people developed the aggressive lung cancer, and 49 of those 72 people were women.
While one study is not enough to identify a trend, these results suggest that women have an increased likelihood of developing mesothelioma.
To learn more about the dangers of asbestos exposure or talk to an asbestos lawyer about your situation, give our Louisiana mesothelioma lawyers a call today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.
Harrell & Nowak, L.L.C.– Louisiana Mesothelioma Attorneys
Did You Know? Roman Emperor Charlemagne is rumored to have had tablecloth made of asbestos. In 814, he died of pleurisy, an inflammation of the lung membranes.