Sunday, March 19, 2006
Mesothelioma Associated With Exposure to Volcanic Mineral
Exposure to volcanic mineral associated with increased mesothelioma incidence in Turkey
High exposure to a fibrous volcanic mineral called erionite was associated with a high incidence of a type of cancer called mesothelioma, according to a study in the March 15 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.Public release date: 14-Mar-2006 - Many cases of environment-related mesothelioma have been reported in the Cappadocia region or Anatolian plateau of Turkey. Blocks of erionite from volcanic tuff have been used in construction, and storage rooms for produce have been cut in the tuff. Past reports have suggested that erionite exposure may increase the risk of mesothelioma, and studies have shown that erionite is associated with a higher risk of cancer development in animals than any other fiber previously tested.
Y. Izzettin Baris, M.D., of Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, and colleagues followed 891 men and women age 20 years and older in three villages in Turkey two exposed to erionite, one control for 23 years. During this period, 372 deaths occurred, and 119 of these deaths occurred from mesothelioma. This form of cancer mainly affects the lining of the lung and was the cause of 44.5% of all deaths in the two villages with erionite exposure. Only two cases of mesothelioma occurred in the control village, both in people born outside of the control village.
The mortality data were analyzed jointly with Philippe Grandjean, M.D., Ph.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health. When standardized to the world population, the annual incidence of pleural mesothelioma in the two exposed villages was 200 and 700 cases per 100,000 people annually, compared to a rate of 10 cases per 100,000 people each year in the control village. The authors conclude that the long-term exposure to erionite is the cause of the exceedingly high risk of developing mesothelioma.
"Our results emphasize the severity of the mesothelioma endemic in erionite-exposed areas of Turkey," the authors write. They add, "In the rural part of central Anatolia, Turkey, millions of inhibitants are likely exposed to hazardous amounts of mineral fibers from the environment. Resources should therefore be directed to preventing these environmental exposures and additional study of the association between environmental exposure to nonasbestos fibers and the risk of cancer."
Contact: Christina Roache, Office of Communications, Harvard School of Public Health, 617-432-6052, croache@hsph.harvard.edu
Citation: Baris YI and Grandjean P. Prospective Study of Mesothelioma Mortality in Turkish Villages With Exposure to Fibrous Zeolite. J Natl Cancer Inst 2006; 98: 414-417.
Note: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute is published by Oxford University Press and is not affiliated with the National Cancer Institute. Attribution to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute is requested in all news coverage. Visit the Journal online at http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjournals.org/.
Contact: Ariel Whitworth
jncimedia@oxfordjournals.org
301-841-1287
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
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Environmental Protection Agency officials are checking gravel pits in western North Dakota’s Dunn County for a cancer-causing mineral.
Several gravel pits, most privately owned, near the base of the Killdeer Mountains were tested in May for erionite, after a University of North Dakota geology professor alerted officials to a potential problem.
“I discovered erionite in the Killdeer Mountains in 1986 but didn’t know at that time that it was a problematic material,” said Nels Forsman, an assistant professor at UND.
There are some indications that erionite is more of a hazard than asbestos, and gravel on roads and hiking trails could be worrisome because people could ingest flying dust, Forsman said.
Some roads have been sprayed with a chemical to keep the dust down, and the state Health Department has asked county officials not to use gravel from the pits.
“We will be working hand in hand with the state and the county to see whether it’ll be safe to continue using (the gravel) or not,” said EPA spokeswoman Joyce Ackerman.
Experts are still determining what constitutes a dangerous level of the carcinogen. The investigation and testing could take months, Ackerman said.
“We don’t mean to alarm anybody by this, but we do feel that it’s prudent to look into it,” said Scott Radig, director of the Health Department’s division of waste management.
In North Dakota there have been 45 diagnosed cases of the cancer that is caused mainly by erionite or asbestos, called mesothelioma, from 1997 to 2004, said Marlys Knell, North Dakota Cancer Registry coordinator. None of the cases was in Dunn County, she said.
Dunn County Commissioner Tex Appledoorn said there is no cause for alarm yet.
“I’m just going to wait it out and see what’s going to happen,” he said. “We’ve used gravel up there for as long as everybody can remember.”
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