News Coverage
Asbestos
Published March 4, 2004
More asbestos-related deaths are recorded in Los Angeles County than anywhere else in the U.S., and asbestos-related illnesses are expected to rise in the next 20 years, according to a report released today. The report by the Environmental Working Group estimated that 1,227 county residents died of asbestos-related illness from 1979 to 2001, slightly more than the 1,051 in Cook County, Ill., which encompasses the Chicago area, the Daily News reported. Nationwide, some 10,000 people died of asbestos-related disease in 2002. Experts said Los Angeles' large population, plus the widespread asbestos use in the shipping industry and post-World War II construction, help explain the county's high death figures, the newspaper reported. "We were just floored when we looked at the deaths from this substance," Richard Wiles, senior vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based environmental group, said in remarks reported by the Daily News.
"We need to think of this as a 50-year problem because we still haven't banned asbestos." Asbestos fibers can become embedded in the lungs and cause asbestosis -- essentially, scar tissue in the lungs, or a usually fatal form of cancer called mesothelioma. Until its dangers became well-known, asbestos was commonly used in construction and insulation materials and as a fire retardant. Even today, asbestos is used in some cement pipes, vinyl floor tiles, duct insulation, floor backing and decorative plaster. Cancer and other diseases linked to asbestos can remain dormant for 20 to 50 years, meaning people who worked with the fibers before safeguards were phased in during the 1970s could still develop illnesses.