Quoted from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-05/mcdonald-suspects-asbestos-cause-of-mesothelioma/4243764

Victim links mesothelioma to asbestos at school

Updated 10 hours 11 minutes ago

Photo: The use of asbestos was widespread decades ago and its removal requires experts. (Stateline) Map: Wagin 6315

A 49-year-old man says he may have contracted mesothelioma as a child while attending a high school in country Western Australia.

John McDonald was diagnosed with the asbestos-related cancer last year.

He is appealing for information from people who were students or teachers at Wagin Junior High in the early 1970s when James Hardie products are believed to have been used for an extension.

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Quoted from http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/medline/pmid;22913651

Evaluation of take home (para-occupational) exposure to asbestos and disease: a review of the literature. . EP Donovan, BL Donovan, MA McKinley, DM Cowan, and DJ Paustenbach Crit Rev Toxicol, August 22, 2012;
The potential for para-occupational (or “take-home”) exposure to a number of chemicals has been recognized for over 60 years. We conducted a literature review in order to characterize reported cases of asbestos-related disease among household contacts of workers occupationally exposed to asbestos. Over 200 published articles were evaluated. Nearly 60 articles described cases of asbestos-related disease thought to be caused by para-occupational exposure. Over 65% of these cases were in persons who lived with workers classified as miners, shipyard workers, insulators, or others involved in the manufacturing of asbestos-containing products, with nearly all remaining workers identified as craftsmen. 98% of the available lung samples of the persons with diseases indicated the presence of amphibole asbestos. Eight studies provided airborne asbestos concentrations during (i) handling of clothing contaminated with asbestos during insulation work or simulated use of friction products; (ii) ambient conditions in the homes of asbestos miners; and (iii) wearing previously contaminated clothing. This review indicates that the literature is dominated by case reports, the majority of which involved household contacts of workers in industries characterized, generally, by high exposures to amphiboles or mixed mineral types. The available data do not implicate chrysotile as a significant cause of disease for household contacts. Also, our analysis indicates that there is insufficient information in the published literature that would allow one to relate airborne asbestos concentrations in a workplace to those that would be generated from subsequent handling of contact with clothing that had been contaminated in that environment. Ideally, a simulation study could be conducted in the future to better understand the relationships between the airborne concentrations in the workplace and the fiber characteristics that influence retention on fabric, as well as the concentrations that can be generated by handling the contaminated clothing by the persons in the home.

Quoted from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2194460/How-minutes-DIY-cost-life-years-later-Hidden-asbestos-homes-putting-millions-risk-deadly-lung-disease.html

How a few minutes of DIY can end up costing you your life: Hidden asbestos in homes putting millions at risk from deadly lung disease

By Anna Hodgekiss

PUBLISHED: 20:43 EST, 27 August 2012 | UPDATED: 05:04 EST, 28 August 2012

Dr Geoffrey Newton, aged 81, died from mesothelioma

Geoffrey Newton had always prided himself on his DIY skills.

Even aged 81, he was fitting a new kitchen and bathroom in his home.

‘Over the years he’d done everything from building a boat to converting an old school house into our home,’ says his wife Pat, 82, a former GP.

‘He was brilliant at DIY. Nothing was ever too much of a challenge.’

Unfortunately, it was this passion that most likely led to Mr Newton’s death in May.

He was suffering from mesothelioma — cancer of the lining of the lungs — caused by exposure to asbestos.

Experts say that even a few hours’ exposure to the toxic fibres can be enough to trigger the condition later in life.

And a few hours was all it had taken for Mr Newton, a leading orthopaedic surgeon, to remove an old central heating boiler packed with white asbestos from his house in Burton-on-Trent.

‘It was 37 years ago, but I still remember all the white dust that came out with it,’ says Pat.

‘At the time, it was known that brown and blue asbestos (there are three types) were dangerous, but not white, so we assumed the dust was harmless.

‘But it’s the only occasion we can think of that Geoffrey was exposed to it, so that must have been the trigger.’

While asbestos has left a cruel legacy for families such as the Newtons, experts are warning it is still very much a risk, mainly due to thousands of homeowners who could unwittingly disturb asbestos while embarking on home renovations.

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