The American Journal of Industrial Medicine recently performed a study which claims that the diagnoses of mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos that is both highly aggressive and incurable, are rising dramatically in Mexico. While most further developed nations throughout the European Union and North America have either banned or heavily regulated the use of the dangerous substance, many nations like India, China and Mexico continue to use asbestos products in a variety of industries.
In fact, with the sudden disappearance of demand for asbestos from developed nations over the past two decades, the remaining developed nations that continue to manufacture the substance have increased their exports to countries like Mexico in order to retain profits. The researchers who conducted the study suggest that the manufacture, distribution, and importation of asbestos should be completely outlawed in Mexico to curb the rising trend of obtaining the fatal cancer through workplace and inner city exposure. Asbestos products, however, are an incredibly cheap and effective solution for many aspects of the construction and other industries, which is likely to be a huge obstacle in passing laws that outlaw its use.
The researchers involved in the study were seeking to discover just how many cases of mesothelioma in Mexico were due to exposure originating in the workplace. In a manner very much like that of the United States’ throughout the end of the 20th century, the general awareness of asbestos related health risks and the efforts to reduce workplace exposure are virtually nil. As a result, a vast amount of laborers in Mexico that work in industrial manufacturing, construction, metallurgy and other industries are exposed to the dangerous asbestos fibers almost daily.
In order to more clearly understand the rising mesothelioma problem in Mexico, the researchers spoke with nearly 500 workers who lived in Mexico city or in the surrounding metropolitan area. They discussed the workplace conditions with the interviewees in an effort to discover what average asbestos exposure in their industries were, and subsequently determine the amount of risk to the worker’s good health. As it turned out, about one fifth of those individuals interviewed were already diagnosed with mesothelioma.
Laws that either ban asbestos or place rigid regulations enforcing its safe handling and proper transport and disposal are unlikely to be passed in the near future in Mexico or other developing nations that import and implement the substance. Supplying nations such as Canada and Russia provide constant pressure to sway international laws regarding the substance’s exportation, and in an effort to quickly and efficiently construct homes, goods and infrastructure, many developing nations are glad to import it.
