Cancer of the pleura and asbestos, the slaughter Announced
The epidemic of cancer of the pleura due to asbestos continues its strong growth in France. Almost 800 new cases of cancer are registered each year Pleva and 2030, the number of deaths will double to 50,000. The number of women affected by cancer Pleva increases, the age of new patients has declined steadily and new categories of the population are affected.
1. The damage of asbestos: the development of mesothelioma, cancer Pleva
Yet suspected for decades, only in 1974 a U.S. study confirms the toxicity of asbestos by demonstrating a cancer risk fivefold among workers on insulation systems containing asbestos.
In France, despite a report highlighting two years later a “likely increase in coming years, the incidence of asbestos-related cancers, including mesothelioma, cancer Pleva, it took until 1 January 1997 that this material is prohibited.
Thus, the national surveillance program of mesothelioma cancer Pleva, was established to assess the damage and estimate the severity of those to come.
2. Asbestos: the slaughter Announced .. including France
Five years later, “announced the slaughter” by some specialists of asbestos is confirmed. The program also reveals a growing epidemic in France, while it is declining in many industrialized countries.
Preventive measures have been too late in France and patients under-diagnosed too long.
Finally, since the 70s, the incidence of mesothelioma, the fatal cancer of the pleura caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers toxic, has doubled among men.
Today is diagnosed 800 new cases per year, including age tends to decrease steadily. Female patients are becoming more numerous and we discover new areas of activities that were thought previously spared, such as shipbuilding. The professionals most at risk are now plumbers, pipefitters, welders, sheet metal workers and boilermakers.
The disease is very slow to declare after the start of exposure, the number of deaths attributable to asbestos should still grow until 2030.