News Coverage
Growing Number of Asbestos Related Deaths in Texas, Study Shows
Published February 19, 2005
At least 259 Texans died in 2002 from an asbestos-related disease,according to a new report on asbestos mortality by the Environmental Working Group. More than one third of the deaths in 2002 (103) were in Houston with 44, Beaumont with 34, and Dallas with 25.
The report, "A Slow Death in Texas," is based on an analysis of new data from the National Center for Health Statistics of the federal government's Centers for Disease Control. The data show that asbestos mortality in Texas is increasing, with a tripling of reported deaths since 1989.
Exposure to asbestos increases the risk of Mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the thin membranes lining the abdominal cavity and surrounding internal organs, and other asbestos-related diseases.
In a statement, EWG said this increase follows a national trend, where deaths from asbestos diseases nationwide are not expected to peak until sometime between 2015 and 2020.
From 1979 through 2002, at least 2,910 Texans died from an asbestos-related disease, placing Texas fifth in the nation for asbestos mortality during that time.
The report also comes in the wake of criminal indictments against asbestos producer, W.R. Grace. The indictment, handed down by a Montana grand jury on February 7, 2005, charges Grace with releasing asbestos dust in the community of Libby, Montana and concealing critical studies from the federal government.
The impact of the alleged criminal behavior by W.R. Grace extends well into Texas. EWG has calculated that at least 670,000 tons of W.R. Grace asbestos from Montana was shipped to Texas between 1963 and 1992.