'Natural' Asbestos Exposure Increases Risk of Developing Malignant Mesothelioma

By Ramsay Crooks

Published on October 28, 2005

Researchers at the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of California, Davis studied 2,908 cases of malignant mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer from exposure to asbestos. The study found that 50 percent of men and 58 percent of women registered in the California Cancer Registry had no or low occupational exposure to asbestos. In addition, the article stated that the odds of developing mesothelioma decreased 6.3 percent for every 10 kilometers farther away individuals lived from naturally occurring asbestos source.

Mesothelioma can take decades to develop after initial exposure to asbestos and, once diagnosed, the prognosis is usually very poor.

The published study can be found in the October 2005 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Additional research will be conducted to determine exposure levels of individuals in high-risk areas.

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