Asbestos Italy: The Casale Monferrato Study

(Marconi et al, 1989, Magnani et al, 1991, 1995)

Small Italian town (40,000 inhabitants in town; 98,000 in the area) in a non industrial region

Asbestos-cement factory operating in town from 1907 to 1985: mainly CHRYSOTILE, about 10 % of CROCIDOLITE

44 mesothelioma cases without known occupational exposure (26 men, 18 women) diagnosed between 1980 and 1989

10 % of cases < 50 year old; men/women ratio close to 1

airborne fibers >5 m in town (1984): 1 to 11 f/liter

Courtesy of the EPA