Mount Sinai Medical Center Assessing Mesothelioma Impact in Libby, Montana

Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine have announced that thousands of residents and workers in Libby, Montana are at risk for developing mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore for nearly a century.

Libby is the site where W.R. Grace and Company operated a toxic vermiculite mine that was highly contaminated with asbestos. Several parts of the town were also affected by asbestos exposure including playgrounds, roads and other residential areas. For decades, workers in Libby brought the toxic dust home on their clothes where they unintentionally exposed their families to asbestos.

Lead by Dr. Stephen Levin, M.D., associate professor of preventative medicine at Mount Sinai, the research team will lead an investigation into various components of asbestos exposure, mesothelioma and environmental cleanup efforts in the town of Libby. Levin asserts that cases of mesothelioma in Libby are much more aggressive than what is commonly seen in most cases.

The first of the research programs will focus on asbestos exposure risks in Libby for children, when the lungs are still in the early phase of development. The team’s goal is to decipher what level of environmental cleanup is necessary to protect children and the most vulnerable population from asbestos.

Other aspects of the research program will compare lung scarring among the residents who were exposed to asbestos in their home environment and not at their jobsite. Residents in Libby have a higher rate of lung scarring than all other asbestos disease patients and researchers hope to find information on preventing scar formation after exposure has occurred, as well as methods to slow the progression of mesothelioma.

Malignant mesothelioma may develop after heavy or repeated exposure to asbestos. When toxic asbestos fibers are inhaled, they may become lodged in organs or body cavities, causing inflammation or infection. Many patients do not demonstrate symptoms of the cancer for 20 to 50 years after initial exposure occurred, allowing mesothelioma to progress to later stages of development.

Though a cure for mesothelioma does not exist, treatment options such as radiation, chemotherapy and surgery are available to patients to combat the disease. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year, accounting for approximately 3 percent of cancer diagnoses in the United States.

Founded in 1852, the Mount Sinai Hospital and School of Medicine is the oldest and largest hospital in the United States. Featuring a faculty of more than 3,400 in 38 clinical and basic science departments and centers, Mount Sinai is internationally recognized as one of the leading pioneers in medical and scientific research.

For more information on mesothelioma and mesothelioma treatment, please visit the Mesothelioma Center.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 10:34 am and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Jobsite Exposure, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.