Thursday, April 9, 2009

Asbestos HUB

Asbestos HUB

CDC Report in JAMA: Years of Potential Life Lost Before Age 65 Years

Posted: 08 Apr 2009 07:17 PM PDT

Exposure to asbestos fibers can cause asbestosis and other diseases after a latency of 10-40 years from initial exposure to onset of illness. Asbestos still is used in the United States in certain products manufactured domestically.

In addition, an undocumented amount of asbestos continues to be imported in products manufactured elsewhere and a substantial amount of asbestos remains in existing buildings and manufactured products. An estimated 1.3 million construction and general industry workers in the United States potentially are exposed to asbestos each year, mainly from manipulation of asbestos during renovation or demolition activities.

The CDC report describes the results of an analysis that indicated annual years of potential life lost before age 65 years attributed to asbestosis increased 64%, from an average of 146.0 per year during 1968-1972 to 239.6 per year during 2001-2005.

Read the Report at the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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