Inquests following three recent deaths raise concerns about safety and continued disease potential in the Bradford district, UK. Historically an industrial area, hundreds of asbestos related deaths have been reported as allegedly caused by workplace hazards in Bradford. Asbestos is known to cause rare and fatal mesothelioma cancer, as well as other severe respiratory illnesses.

Asbestos was introduced to developing industrial markets in the early nineteen hundreds. A naturally occurring substance that can be mined from the earth, asbestos was found to be durable and fire resistant. This made it a prime substance for use in insulations, construction components and any product facing consistent wear and tear. Asbestos was added to floor tiles, roofing sheets, paint, plumbing works and countless other items. Through the last century raw asbestos was mined, bought, sold and used in all major industrial markets. US, UK, Australia, Japan and other countries built their industrial empires on the back of this material. Asbestos containing materials made it into almost every structure, building, equipment and home built between the nineteen twenties and nineteen eighties.

As health threats associated with asbestos exposure began to surface, regulations for safe use were put in place in many working arenas. However, due to ignorance or negligence, many employers did not communicate asbestos health threats to their employees, or did not provide them with necessary protection. Malignant mesothelioma, characterized by a long latency period, began showing up decades after original asbestos exposure. Often, these cases were found in individuals long since retired from their work and twenty to fifty years past any asbestos contact.

Today, over six hundred thousand asbestos related lawsuits have been filed. Most of these are employees suing current or former employers for some form of negligence or intent to harm. With only one known cause of mesothelioma, it is not very difficult to find the asbestos culprit in someone’s work history.

Mesothelioma is most often found in protective lung lining, although it can affect other abdominal cavities as well. Mesothelioma is characterized by irregularly patterned tumors that grow through affected areas without showing signs or symptoms until decades after original asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma treatments include surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. There is no known cure for mesothelioma.

The three deaths in connection with Bradford district were all found to be asbestos related. According to the Telegraph & Argus news, postmortems found asbestos-caused plaque in one victim; asbestos fibers in another; and the third had been advised by his doctors that he was experiencing mesothelioma symptoms.

Chairman of Bradford Asbestos Victim Support Group, Carol Deurden, said of recent findings, “We are getting more and more inquiries about mesothelioma. The national figure is rising every year and is expected to keep on rising.”

A recent article in Scottish news source, Daily Record, reports the death of an artist, which may be connected to asbestos exposure. James Howie’s death certificate states he died of pulmonary embolism and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare respiratory cancer caused by exposure to toxic asbestos fibers. Most often associated with industrial employment, asbestos has been used in the past to stabilize paint products. As an artist, it is Howie’s work with paint that may have put him in contact with asbestos.

Howie’s widow, Joyce, is quoted in the Daily Record. She said, “He had mesothelioma, which he could have contracted at any time during his work. He used to do layer upon layer of paint, always scraping, sanding, cutting it back to paint over it again and again in order to create a certain effect. He would keep repeating this process until it resulted in the thing he was looking for.”

It is not certain if Howie’s mesothelioma was caused by his artwork, but an autopsy will hopefully reveal more about the case. “Although we have the death certificate, we’re still awaiting the results of a final autopsy,” said his widow. Mesothelioma treatments exist, but there is no known cure.

Mesothelioma is a leading cause of work related deaths in the UK. However, this statistic is usually in connection with historic, industrial use of asbestos. Throughout the last century UK, US, and other nations used asbestos in countless industrial and manufacturing arenas. Asbestos is known for its durability, fire resistance and stabilizing qualities. Products necessitating these characteristics were often not built without some quantity of asbestos additive. Common asbestos containing products include insulation, floor and ceiling tiles, and roofing sheets.

Although asbestos is relatively safe when contained, fibers can be released when the containing material breaks apart, whether from long-term wear and tear, sudden demolition, or other causes. Once asbestos fibers are inhaled or ingested they can become a serious health threat.

Mesothelioma development is specific to protective organ lining. Most often found in lung lining, mesothelioma can also affect other organs such as the diaphragm or heart. Malignant tumors spread through effected areas in an irregular pattern, causing no visible signs of distress or change to the patient.

Mesothelioma undergoes a latency period typically ranging from twenty to fifty years. Patients who do not know they have been exposed to asbestos will have no cause to consider that they could be developing cancer. Towards the end of the latency period symptoms mimicking those of bronchitis or pneumonia begin to demonstrate.  These may be accompanied by fatigue, shortness of breath or abdominal discomfort.

A four-day fire in Gibson County, Indiana left Emge meat packing plant completely burned out. Unfortunately, asbestos has been identified in the building’s remains, making the matter one of public health and safety. Exposure to asbestos fibers can cause rare cancer mesothelioma as well as other severe respiratory illnesses.

The property is privately owned and the owner, according to a recent Courier Press report, is refusing to pay for asbestos abatement; some responsibility conflicts have come about in a search for appropriate handling of the damage.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) project manager Kevin Turner said in regards to the conflict, “We have engaged the owner to clean it up and he refused. There is a civil process we go through. Under the law he can say he will do it or not do it but that doesn’t relieve him of any liability or financial responsibility.”

The EPA has stepped in to handle safe clean up of the area with an estimated $400,000 budget. Turner says EPA will remove the asbestos materials but will not be responsible for demolition.

Fires and natural disasters such as tornadoes and earthquakes can quickly take relatively safe materials and turn them into a death threat. Asbestos, a naturally occurring chemical considered a Type 1 carcinogen by World Health Organization, is present in countless products and building components throughout the US and around the world. Until containing materials are broken or wear down, toxic asbestos fibers have no way of being released into the air. Disasters like Gordon County’s fire can do a quick job of starting a major public health hazard.

Once asbestos fibers are inhaled they can start a mutative process in protective organ lining. This process leads to development of tumors that spread through surrounding areas as malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period and symptoms that mimic those of bronchitis or pneumonia. Sadly, symptoms do not show until twenty to fifty years after cancer development begins, making mesothelioma next to impossible to diagnose early. Mesothelioma treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. There is no known cure for mesothelioma.

Global regulations for asbestos clean up and removal have become more stringent over the past few decades.  Asbestos abatement must be done by qualified professionals and materials have to be disposed of in licensed facilities under specific conditions. Costs associated with proper asbestos abatement have led many individuals and companies to cut legal corners, leading to lawsuits and damaging the quality of breathable air.

A recent article in the Salisbury Journal discussed a mesothelioma case brought on by asbestos exposure from restaurant oven seals. Italian chef Luigi Pes, married with two grown children, was diagnosed in February 2008 with malignant mesothelioma. Like many more recent cases of mesothelioma, Pes’s exposure did not come from one of the industrial sources more commonly associated with the dreaded disease.

Even as many countries enforce asbestos regulations, older asbestos-containing components built before such regulations were in place are wearing down or being demolished for replacement, releasing asbestos fibers into the air. Today, millions of people employed outside the industrial workforce could be in danger from asbestos—what has long been considered an “industrial hazard.”

Adrian Budgen, of UK law firm Irwin Mitchell, recognizes this change in asbestos exposure potential and patient demographics. In a July 5^th article in The Star, Budgen says: “Asbestos has long been associated with heavy industry but sadly we are seeing an increasing number of people from other sectors – such as health and education – falling victim to diseases like mesothelioma.

“Over the years, as asbestos-containing materials began to deteriorate and crumble, many UK workers were inhaling the lethal fibres as they went about their daily tasks, completely unaware of the dangers they were facing, putting them at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease.

“The rising numbers of white- collar workers who are going on to suffer from mesothelioma highlights the need for a proper record of which public buildings – whether they are council offices, hospitals or schools – contain asbestos to prevent future, needless tragedies.”

Mesothelioma is considered a fatal cancer. It affects the protective lining of lungs and other abdominal cavities and is caused by inhalation or ingestion of toxic asbestos fibers. Mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period following asbestos exposure, and a short life expectancy following diagnosis. There are several mesothelioma treatments available, but no known cure.