Natural Asbestos Poses Health Risk

July 11, 2006 - Australian geologists have determined that naturally-occurring asbestos, found in rocks and disturbed by construction, roadwork, or farming, could pose a health risk to those who are exposed to the material.

Engineering geologist Marc Hendrickx told a Melbourne conference on July 4th that there had been no medical assessment in Australia of the effect of disturbing low-level asbestos deposits but he believes that more research is needed.

In Australia, the natural mineral fiber - which has prompted thousands of lawsuits throughout the world due to on-the-job exposure – occurs in two varieties, blue and white.  The blue variety, which is found in Western Australia, is known to cause the cancer mesothelioma.  The white variety is also found on the continent, notably near Victoria and in New South Wales.  This type causes asbestosis and lung cancer.

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald cites a Californian study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine which concluded that there was an increased risk of mesothelioma from living near naturally occurring asbestos.

Furthermore, a Sydney University study of 6329 cases of mesothelioma from 1945-2001 concluded that 20 percent of the cases were not tied to a known cause, Hendrickx said.

"What we would like to see is more research done on that 20 percent to see if they contracted cancer as a result of naturally occurring asbestos," he concluded.