The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new report entitled “Years of Potential Life Lost,” which has calculated the approximate number of years lost by Americans who have suffered from asbestos-caused diseases, including asbestosis and mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer. In the report, the CDC concluded that at least 1, 169 Americans have died from an asbestos-related illness between 1968 and 2005, but the number could be much higher.
Of those 1, 169 individuals, an estimated 7,267 “productive years” were lost. According to the CDC, the toll asbestos, which is both an environmental and health issue, has had on human life is extremely alarming.
Americans who suffered from an asbestos-related disease reportedly lost 146 years of life each year between 1968 and 1972. Asbestos-usage regulations were not in effect until the mid-eighties. Because of the latency period associated with asbestos diseases, the number of years of life lost increased between 2001 and 2005, with a total of 240 years lost annually, according to the report. That’s an increase of 64%, which the CDC calls “staggering.”
“Years of Potential Life Lost,” or YPLL, is a “measure of premature mortality” utilized by the CDC to measure deaths occurring among younger individuals during their “most productive years.”
Despite regulations, asbestos is still found within millions of American residences and other buildings within certain products, such as attic insulation. Individuals who are exposed to asbestos will likely not suffer from symptoms for several decades, which is why the CDC expects the number of people diagnosed with asbestos-caused ailments, such as asbestos cancer, to increase or remain the same in the next decade.
The CDC study included 531 deceased individuals aged 25 to 64 years of age. These individuals had previously worked in the construction, ship building/repair, and military industries; more specifically, they were insulation workers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.
The study was conducted by doctors from the CDC’s Division of Respiratory Studies at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
For Americans who work in the aforementioned industries, Mesothelioma.com recommends obtaining a copy of the general industry standards documents, which are published by the CDC, for their respective industry. These documents provide important information about asbestos exposure and safety while on the job.
For more information about asbestos exposure and related diseases, please visit Mesothelioma.com.
