Mesothelioma News: Iceland Incidence Rises – August 2016

Iceland banned asbestos in 1983, and is one of the fifty eight countries that have banned the deadly mineral. Thus Iceland has had a continuous ban on asbestos that began more than thirty years ago. However, the incident of mesothelioma in the country today continues to rise. This is despite the over thirty year ban on the asbestos mineral.
A recent study shows how hard it will be to end the mesothelioma cancer and other related asbestos diseases. A professor from the University of Iceland said that the country may need to wait another twenty years so as to see a reduction in the rate of mesothelioma.
Although asbestos was never mined in Iceland, huge amounts of the mineral were imported into the country and were used. The mineral was used in manufacturing and construction throughout the 1970s and the 1980s. Because of such use in the construction of buildings, asbestos is still found in old buildings. Mesothelioma is caused by the inhaling or swallowing of tiny asbestos fibers. These asbestos fibers have been disturbed and thus become airborne. Symptoms of mesothelioma are similar to other common conditions and can be mistaken for diseases or conditions such as heart attack. However, there is a twenty to fifty year period between a person inhaling or swallowing asbestos fibers and the surfacing of symptoms and diagnosis.

Iceland Incident Report

A study was done by University researchers, Iceland’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Centre for Health Security and Communicable Disease Control. The study found that the ratio of persons diagnosed with mesothelioma versus the population had risen. The ratio had risen significantly since the late 1970s. For example, from 1975-1985 the ratio of people with mesothelioma was four cases per one million. The latest findings from 2005-2014 were twenty one point four (21.4) cases in one million.