A
new German study has confirmed what thousands of power plants workers
already know: their exposure to asbestos on the job puts them at high
risk for malignant mesothelioma.
Because of its
heat resistant properties, asbestos was used for many years as an
insulator around hot power plants turbines, wires and other sensitive
equipment. Thousands of power plants workers have come in contact with
the material on a daily basis, in some cases, for decades.
In the newest
study on the risk of mesothelioma among power plant workers, German
researchers monitored 8,632 former or current power plant employees
between 2002 and 2006 who worked with the large turbines. The
researchers took dust fibers from in and around the plants and found
that 96 percent of the samples contained high amounts of chrysotile asbestos fibers, a known risk factor for asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other types of lung cancer.
The results of the
analysis showed that up to 94 percent of the study subjects had been
exposed to asbestos during their employment, some for as long as 20
years, and were at high risk for mesothelioma. The research team
analyzed workers involved in different jobs within the power plant and
found that the most intense asbestos exposure happened during the repair
or revision of the power turbines. While all the power plant workers
were heavily exposed to asbestos, power plant metalworkers and
electricians, those most directly involved with turbine repair, tended
to have the highest exposure and the greatest risk for diseases such as
mesothelioma.
Most strikingly,
the study found that, although the air inside the power plants was
clearly toxic, 82 percent of the German workers did not have any safety
precautions in their workplace to protect them against mesothelioma.
The study’s authors suggest that, because of the findings, metal workers
and electricians in the power generating industry should be closely
monitored for signs of mesothelioma.
Although mesothelioma is
fast-growing and resistant to traditional therapies, early detection
vastly improves a patient’s chances of survival.
Source :
