New analyses concerning asbestos exposure and mesothelioma are conducted on a regular basis, and the results are not always the same. The recent release of the analysis by the EWG Action Fund, which found that more Americans die from asbestos exposure every year than previously thought, is proof of this.
To stay up-to-date on the most recent and accurate mesothelioma and asbestos exposure statistics, let’s review them below.
- Asbestos exposure was the direct cause of 12,000 to 15,000 American deaths every year for a fourteen-year period. That’s anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 more deaths than previous estimates. (EWG Action Fund)
- In all, from 1999 to 2013 an estimated 127,579 to 159,480 Americans died from asbestos exposure. (EWG Action Fund)
- 50 years after medical research found that asbestos exposure can lead to death, the government still can’t give a definitive number of how many Americans die from asbestos exposure every year. (EWG Action Fund)
The cause of death in 40 to 50 percent of asbestosis victims is asbestosis; in others it is recorded as a contributing (EWG Action Fund)- Since 2006, at least 8 million pounds of raw asbestos and asbestos-containing materials have arrived in U.S. ports. (EWG Action Fund)
- In 2013, imported raw asbestos was valued at $1.16 million. That same year, products containing asbestos were evaluated at $4.94 million. (EWG Action Fund)
- Since 2010, asbestos interests gave $3.3 million to House members who voted to concede compensation for victims. (EWG Action Fund)
- The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s “Work-Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report” for 2007, the latest year available, noted that elementary school teachers are “more than twice as likely to die from asbestos exposure than Americans as a whole.” (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
- Because many people exposed long ago have yet to develop symptoms and an unknown number are being newly exposed, the death asbestos toll will continue to climb and could eventually reach half a million over the next 30 years. (Center for Public Integrity)
- There are 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed each year. (American Cancer Society)
- Mesothelioma diagnoses have continually increased from the 1970s to the early 1990s, but since then the rate has stabilized and even gone down slightly. In many other countries, the rate of mesothelioma is still increasing. (American Cancer Society)
- The rate of mesothelioma is lower in women. (American Cancer Society)
- A mesothelioma diagnosis is much more common in older people than younger people. The average age at the time of diagnosis for pleural mesothelioma (mesothelioma in the chest) is 69 years old. (American Cancer Society)
- Based on data from the National Cancer Institute’s SEER program, the relative 5-year survival rate for mesothelioma is between 5% and 10%. If a person is diagnosed at a younger age, they tend to have a higher likelihood of surviving longer. (American Cancer Society)
- Between 1999 and 2010, more than 31,000 people in the U.S. died from mesothelioma. During that same time frame, the number of people who died each year in the U.S. from mesothelioma as an underlying or contributing cause increased by 10 percent. (Centers for Disease Control)
- Mortality rates among people diagnosed with mesothelioma are expected to increase by 5 to 10 percent per year in most industrialized countries until the year 2020. (NCBI)
Mesothelioma is a devastating disease that impacts thousands of people every year. The above 2015 mesothelioma and asbestos exposure statistics provided by these credible sources emphasize exactly that. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, learn more about filing a mesothelioma lawsuit with help from Simmons Hanly Conroy today.
