Centers for Disease Control Confirms that Deaths from Mesothelioma are Continuing to Rise in the United States
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5815a3.htm?s_cid=mm5815a3_x)
In a recent report, the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) confirmed that the yearly number of deaths caused by the asbestos cancer mesothelioma is continuing to rise in the United States.
The CDC indicates that, during the seven-year period from 1999 to 2005, there were 18,068 reported malignant mesothelioma deaths in the United States. In 2005, the last year covered in the report, the total number of deaths was 2,704. This was the highest number of mesothelioma deaths for any of the seven years covered in the report. In fact, the number of yearly deaths has increased every year from 2,482 deaths in 1999 to 2,704 deaths in 2005, representing a 8.9% increase over the period.
The report indicates that, over the seven-year period, 80.8% of mesothelioma deaths occurred in males and 94.5% among whites. The median age at the time of death was 74.
The CDC expects the number of mesothelioma deaths to peak in 2010 and begin to decline as the improvements in safety and reduction in asbestos use instituted decades begin to have an effect. The latency period of mesothelioma can be decades long, so even though asbestos is used less widely today, people continue to get mesothelioma due to their exposures in the past.
The CDC acknowledges that their findings are limited by mesothelioma cases being misdiagnosed or assigned less specific disease codes thereby causing them to not be captured by their analysis. Accordingly, it is likely that real number of mesothelioma deaths in the United States are significantly greater than what the CDC has reported.
The CDC notes that although asbestos has been eliminated in the manufacture of many products, it is still being imported (approximately 1,730 metric tons in 2007) and used in the United States in various construction and transportation products. “Ensuring a future decrease in mesothelioma mortality requires meticulous control of exposures to asbestos.” The Law Office of Roger G. Worthington has long-advocated for a meaningful ban of asbestos, in any concentration, in products manufactured, sold or used in the United States.
*** POSTED JULY 30, 2009 ***