WHO reports on global mesothelioma stats, urges prevention

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published their mesothelioma statistics about worldwide mortality rates. Between 1994 and 2008, 92,253 deaths from mesothelioma were reported in 83 countries.

Where's the hope in this? Well, publicity. As long as people can see what asbestos does, and are made to remember just how lethal mesothelioma is, public opinion might pressure the asbestos industry into protecting workers' lives. At least, that is the hope.

The mortality database of WHO dated back to 1994, when they began tracking. The researchers found that “the mean age at death was 70 years of age,”  due to asbestos diseases' long latency periods, and to the former ubiquity of asbestos in construction, factory, and military workplaces. The WHO reported that industrialized“high income countries such as the United States reported the highest number of mesothelioma deaths.” In years to come, they predict that recently industrialized countries will face 

Of the three most common varieties of mesothelioma,

•          41.3% of people had pleural mesothelioma
•          4.5% of people peritoneal mesothelioma
•          0.3% of people had pericardial mesothelioma

·         43.1% of people did not specify the type of mesothelioma.

What do you think--will these recently published numbers help us get asbestos if not off the market, then at least out of people's lungs?