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Being one of the earliest colonies of New England and the oldest of US, Massachusetts is also the state with highest mesothelioma mortality rate among others. What is important to know is that even though use of asbestos has been banned in the country, it is still being used and incidents of mesothelioma are on rise. However, it is also a preventable disease which can be 100% avoided if exposure to asbestos is controlled. According to US government statistics, mesothelioma and asbestos mortality rate has gone up from 1979 to 1998.
Asbestos exposure can be avoided by wearing protective clothing and masks which prevent the inhalation of asbestos particles. If asbestos particles are inhaled, they can settle in the mesothelium or the protective sac covering body’s internal organs. If mesothelioma attacks the lining of the lungs it’s called pleural mesothelioma while mesothelioma of stomach is called peritoneal mesothelioma. This cancer spreads very fast and a patient can die within a year or 16-18 months after the first diagnosis. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery are the only options available for most patients suffering from mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is only developed after you have been exposed to asbestos. If you have worked in asbestos based industry or construction, shipyard, asbestos mines and mills; you are at a greater risk to develop this deadly cancer. Not only this but family members of asbestos workers are vulnerable to mesothelioma as asbestos dust or particles can be transferred on the clothing, shoes and hair of the workers.
Mesothelioma in Massachusetts
Below are the figures for the number of deaths, mortality rates (per million population), and years of potential life lost (YPLL) in Massachusetts in for residents aged 15 and over.
State |
|
Crude Mortality |
Rate |
Rank |
|
Age-Adjusted Mortality |
Rate |
Rank |
|
VYLL to life Expectancy |
Total |
Rank |
VYLL/death |
Rank |
|
| Massachusetts |
81 |
9 |
16.39 |
8 |
15.40 |
10 |
1,006 |
11 |
12.4 |
45 |
Around 1,355 people have been victims of asbestos diseases in Massachusetts since 1979. Out of this, 600-800 people died from mesothelioma. Massachusetts received 2,987 shipments of vermiculite from Libby, Montana. This vermiculite was sent to 7 locations in Massachusetts during 1948 and 1993 to Cambridge, Westminster and Charlestown. However, Easthampton was the city to received most of this vermiculite.
Zonolite Company on Wemelco Way in Easthampton is on the priority list of the federal government due to its asbestos contaminated sites where asbestos was processed.
Middlesex County is ranked in the top 20 counties reporting asbestos mortalities in Massachusetts. When the Massachusetts Environmental Agency conducted a thorough investigation on asbestos abuse, they discovered that nearly 200 violations of the ban are carried out in a month. These violations range from illegal handling of asbestos to illegal processing in residential areas as well as improper disposal of the toxic. |
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