CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Analyzes Mesothelioma Death Rates

The CDC’s April 24, 2009 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report served as a reminder to some and alert to others of the deadly and lingering effects of asbestos. The report, "Malignant Mesothelioma Mortality – United States, 1999-2005," reviewed annual deaths attributable to malignant mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos, compared to population, death rates, and asbestos usage.

Cause of death records from the NIOSH’s NORMS database show the number of malignant mesothelioma deaths rose from 2,482 in 1999 to 2,704 in 2005. A 2004 article from the American Journal of Epidemiology cited by the MMWR report suggests the diagnosis of mesothelioma may peak in 20101.

These increases, despite the sharp decline in asbestos usage since importation of the mineral peaked in 1973, are a result of the long latency period between asbestos exposure and disease progression. Asbestos-related diseases often develop 20, 30, or 40 years after the initial exposure.

However, the MMWR report cautions against complacency. Asbestos is not banned; some 1700 metric tons were imported into the US in 2007.

While this is a far cry from the more than 800,000 metric tons imported annually at the height of asbestos use, this "new" asbestos combined with the substantial amounts of already present in buildings makes asbestos exposure a concerning risk even today. According to OSHA’s estimates, "1.3 million construction and general industry workers potentially are being exposed to asbestos."

Even if the number of new mesothelioma cases begins to decline in 2010, it will be years before the effects of decades of poor asbestos management and lackluster concern for worker safety are no longer apparent in the statistics.

Of the 18,068 deaths between 1999-2005 which were analyzed:

* 80% were men
* 95% were white

The six states with the highest rate of death attributable to mesothelioma were:

* Maine (22.2 per million residents)
* Wyoming (22.2 per million residents)
* West Virginia (21.0 per million residents)
* Pennsylvania (20.8 per million residents)
* New Jersey (20.2 per million residents)
* Washington (20.1 per million residents)