Increased Risk of Mesothelioma Caused by Volcanic Material

March 24, 2006 - A study recently completed by the National Cancer Institute has found that, though mesothelioma is almost always caused by asbestos exposure, evidence shows a high incidence of mesothelioma among individuals living in Turkey who’ve been exposed to the volcanic mineral, erionite. 

In Ankara, Turkey, this mineral is used extensively in construction and produce storage rooms.  Experts note that previous reports conducted in Turkey also suggest that erionite exposure is associated with a higher risk of cancer development than any other natural mineral fiber tested. 

Researchers from a university in Turkey followed 891 people age 20 years and older in three Turkish villages for 23 years. Two of the villages were exposed to erionite and one was not.  During this time period, 372 of the individuals died and 119 of these deaths occurred from mesothelioma. That figure represented 44.5% of all deaths in the two villages subject to erionite exposure.

In the control village – the one not exposed to erionite - there were only two deaths from mesothelioma and both affected individuals were born outside of the control village. 

Doctors at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed the collected data and determined that, compared to the worldwide standardized annual incidence of pleural mesothelioma, the two exposed villages had a much higher pleural mesothelioma rate of 200 and 700 cases per 100,000 people annually. The rate in the non-exposed village was only 10 cases per 100,000 people each year. This extremely high numbers left researchers with no doubt that exposure to erionite is the cause of the exorbitantly high risk of developing mesothelioma.

Researchers have urged the Turkish government to begin to take measures to protect their citizens from continued exposure to this mineral and stress that further studies should be undertaken as to the dangers of erionite exposure.