A British study to be released in Melbourne, Australia this week proclaims that one-in-10 Australian carpenters born before 1950 will die of mesothelioma, and that they will make up a significant portion of the approximately 30,000 Australians who will succumb to the disease between 2000 and 2050.

The study was conducted by cancer research specialist Professor Julian Peto who made the findings during research into the lifetime occupations of 600 mesothelioma patients and an analysis of international trends in mesothelioma mortality, notes an article in The Age.

Peto also pointed out that the development of meso was not limited to exposure to dangerous blue (crocidolite) asbestos but also brown (amosite) asbestos, which was used extensively in building products in Australia and Britain until approximately 1980, including in cement sheeting and roofing.

“I think that is one of the things that has largely been missed in much of the discussion on mesothelioma,” Professor Peto said. “The use of these products was completely uncontrolled. Carpenters would chop it up with power saws without much concern at all. And this was after we became aware of the dangers of blue asbestos.”

The research also determined that Australia and the United Kingdom have the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world. Approximately 600 cases per year are diagnosed in Australia and almost 2,000 annually in Britain.

The rate for Australia and the UK is more than five times that of the United States, mainly because of different construction methods, Professor Peto said.

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