Massive health hazard Long-term cancer risk from asbestos contamination

Physicians warn of the long-term risks of asbestos exposure
For a long time, asbestos was evaluated as a non-hazardous material until findings on the association with cancers of the lung, larynx, lung, and peritoneum prompted a reassessment. Today, the use of asbestos is largely discontinued, but the cancer risk remains even decades after exposure, so the reference of the University Hospital Freiburg.

"The sooner you have been confronted with asbestos, the more likely is a late illness," reports the Freiburg University Hospital. Inhaled asbestos fibers can cause cancer in the lungs, larynx, lung, and peritoneum. Even decades after contact with the fibers, there is a risk of developing the disease.

During refurbishment work, asbestos fixtures are often to be removed in buildings, which requires special security measures in view of the cancer risks. (Image: Bernard MAURIN / fotolia.com)

Asbestos still in many buildings
After asbestos has been identified as a carcinogen, the use of asbestos in Germany since 1993 is virtually completely banned, reports the University Hospital. However, especially in the 60s and 70s, asbestos was often used in long-lasting construction products and therefore can still be found in homes and buildings today. The asbestos often forms an undetected source of danger in renovations, for example, when old floor coverings, bathroom tiles or plasters are to be removed. The fibers can be inhaled and become long-term in the tissue.

Asbestos fibers remain in the tissue long term
Asbestos "breaks down into fine fibers that continue to split in length" and "these small fragments can be easily inhaled", emphasizes Armin Schuster, graduate biologist at the Institute for Environmental Medicine and Hospital Hygiene at the University Hospital of Freiburg. The fibers remain long-term in the lungs and other tissues and solve typical diseases, the expert said. The material is now considered to be clearly carcinogenic.

Fibers are even detectable in urine
"A short and extreme load of asbestos has the same effect as a year-long low load," Schuster continues. And the sooner you have been confronted with asbestos, the more likely a later illness will be. "Inhaled asbestos fibers even appear in the urine. In the tissue, a specialized pathologist can detect asbestos exposure to the microscope. Also to be examined construction products are thus detected, "explains Schuster.

Threatening cancer
According to the University of Freiburg, inhaled asbestos fibers threaten cancer in the lungs, larynx or mesothelia (linings of the thoracic and peritoneal cavities or of the pericardial sac). With x-ray and CT examinations, typical changes in the pleura can be seen. To exclude a malignant tumor, however, a chest mirroring must be made.

Better treatment options with early diagnosis
If the physician detects a tumor, it can often be surgically removed at an early stage of the tumor by removing the ribs, pleura and sometimes also the diaphragm, reports the university hospital. The surgery is to be combined with intraoperative chemotherapy, which is given to the ribs and pulmonary sclera via a machine and drains into the chest and then circulated there. According to Dr. Benedikt Haager, Senior Physician at the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the University Hospital of Freiburg, can thus "achieve a higher concentration of the chemotherapeutic agent directly at the scene" and the effectiveness of the treatment can be increased. (Fp)