Invloed van milieublootstelling aan asbest in de regio rond Goor op het optreden van het maligne mesothelioom onder vrouwen: Deelrapport 2

This report answers the question whether the increased incidence of pleural mesothelioma among women in the asbestos-polluted area around Goor can be attributed to exposure to asbestos from wast material on dirt roads and house yards. The regional Cancer Register has selected all mesothelioma cases among women in the region Twente in the period 1989-2003 (n=61), of which 30 cases in the risk area around Goor. Medical files in hospitals in Almelo, Enschede, Hengelo, Deventer, and Zutphen were analysed and for most cases additional information was collected through the general practitioner and next-of-kin. This study is limited to women because women have less often worked in occupations with asbestos exposure and, thus, an increased incidence due to environmental asbestos is much easier to demonstrate among women.
ln the risk area around Goor (30 cases) 11 cases were attributed to the environmental asbestos pollution on roads and yards with centainty and in 4 cases this source was the most likely cause. The average cumulative asbestos exposure was estimated at 0.11 fiber-years. Based on a previously published risk assessment this cumulative exposure may well explain the additional incidence of 15 cases of pleural mesothelioma among women in the risk area. ln the first report an increased incidence of 19 cases of pleural mesothelioma among women in the risk area in the period 1989-2003 was observed. Among these 19 cases, 15 cases can be attributed to regular inhalation of asbestos fibers from polluted roads and yards.
Among the 61 women with pleural mesothelioma in Twente 9 cases were 'household' cases, of which 6 cases due to husbands who had worked at production units in the asbestos- cement factory Eternit in Goor.
These findings demonstrate that the environmental pollution to asbestos waste materials in the area around Goor is the main explanation for the strongly increased incidence of pleural mesothelioma among women in this area. Under the assumption of a similar risk among men the consequences of the environmental pollution in Goor will have resulted in at least 30 cases of mesothelioma among men and women in the period 1989-2003.