Mesothelioma in Women with No Asbestos Exposure

Many people believe that asbestos is only an exposure risk for those who have worked directly with asbestos at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, there are many ways for people to experience the detrimental effects of asbestos exposure without ever working with this naturally occurring carcinógeno. In fact, recent studies have unveiled the surprising link between mesothelioma in women who have never been exposed to asbestos- at least no known exposure instances. Here’s what you need to know. 

Mesothelioma and Homemakers?

The aggressive and terminal cancer known as mesothelioma has been almost entirely associated with asbestos exposure, and there’s a good reason for that. Mesotelioma is a cancer of the mesothelium- a thin protective layer of tissue that surrounds the body’s major organs. While some common examples include the surrounding tissue of the lungs, mesothelioma can also occur in the surrounding tissue of the heart or testicles. However, the reason mesothelioma has carried a direct connection with asbestos is due to the fact that almost all occurrences of mesothelioma are in relation to asbestos exposure. 

Sobering Statistics

To put it one way, not everyone who has been exposed to asbestos will go on to develop mesothelioma, but almost everyone who has developed mesothelioma has been exposed to asbestos in some form. This close connection between asbestos and mesothelioma has been at the center of a troubling statistic reported recently by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC):  The rate of mesothelioma deaths in women has seen a significant increase from 1999 to 2020, a rate of increase from 489 to 614. 

Despite the troubling increase in mesothelioma deaths, the study also revealed a surprising percentage rate: 129 of the 614 deaths in 2020, or 22.8 percent, were homemakers. To put it another way, more than 1 out of every 5 women who died from mesothelioma in 2020 were homemakers.

No Asbestos Exposure vs. Unknown Asbestos Exposure

The general consensus might be to assume that in these cases, the homemakers who tragically died from mesothelioma probably were the exception to the rule of contracting mesothelioma. Since they were homemakers, they probably developed mesothelioma from some other source. While that general viewpoint may sound reasonable enough, it is unfortunately not what the evidence associated with these statistics shows. According to the CDC, the factor of mesothelioma in these women was in fact due to asbestos exposure, but a variety of exposure that often gets overlooked in those unfamiliar with the various ways asbestos exposure can take place. 

Various Ways Asbestos Exposure Takes Place

Asbestos exposure often has the same outcome, but the way it occurs can vary greatly. First, occupational or primary exposure happens when someone works directly with asbestos in their day-to-day job. This may also include instances where asbestos is within the area, such as other workers or even asbestos-containing materials (ACM) present in the building. One primary example is the large amount of asbestos insulation that was used by the United States Navy in their vessels. 

Many people went on to develop asbestos diseases, even those who did not work directly with the insulation. However, due to the close quarters, contamination risks, and the sheer presence of insulation throughout naval vessels, exposure risks were impossible to escape for anyone in the surrounding area. 

Exposición al asbesto de segunda mano

Multiple Ways to Explain the Same Exposure Risk

While it is true that many of the women in the CDC statistics did in fact work in industries associated with asbestos, this still does not account for the amount of women who were homemakers. This can be explained by the second kind of asbestos exposure, known commonly as secondary or second-hand exposure. This type of exposure also may be described by a variety of different names that all mean the same thing: 

• family exposure
• domestic exposure
• exposición en el hogar
• para-occupational exposure

The general idea behind secondary asbestos exposure has to do with ways people who do not work with or around asbestos may still be exposed to microscopic asbestos fibers. 

Asbestos From Work to Home

First, homemakers can be exposed to asbestos because their husband or someone who lives in the same home has brought asbestos into the home on their tools or clothing. Asbestos fibers are microscopic, so the occurrence of bringing asbestos home from work may happen in a much more subtle way than people think. Homemakers will clean bedding, wash and fold laundry, and go on with their daily routine, unaware that they are exposing themselves to the asbestos fibers on those items.

Asbestos Within the Home

Additionally, homemakers who dwell in buildings constructed during or before the mid-1980s run the risk of living in an asbestos environment. Asbestos was heavily used in the construction industry for decades, up until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began banning various forms of asbestos in the United States. However, many older homes still contain asbestos. In many instances, undamaged asbestos-containing materials (ACM) pose no initial health risk. 

However, if these materials are damaged from flood, leak, fire, or other types of home damage, the asbestos fibers can be stirred up and released into the air. With the added components of central heating and ventilation, these fibers can quickly spread throughout the entirety of the home, putting homemakers at risk. 

What to do about health problems potentially from unknown asbestos exposure

Estimates are actually higher than 1 in 5 women cited in the CDC statistics, and this is due to underreporting. Sadly, things are probably even worse than what we know for sure from the information available. So what should homemakers do? Women whose spouse or parent worked in an industrial job before the mid-1980s when a lot of asbestos began being phased out should get tested. This is done by X-ray and analyzed by a specialized X-ray reader who has B Reader certification. 

Unfortunately, the average lifespan after someone has been diagnosed with mesotelioma is only one year. This means that those who have developed this disease should seek financial compensation as soon as possible, in order to pay for medical expenses and leave a legacy for loved ones. If you need to take the necessary steps for asbestos compensation, reach out today to the professionals at AsbestosClaims.com.