The Presence of Asbestos in the Natural Environment is Likely Related to Mesothelioma in Young Individuals and Women from Southern Nevada

Inhalation of asbestos and other mineral fibers is known causes of malignant mesothelioma (MM) and lung cancers. In a setting of occupational exposure to asbestos, MM occurs four to eight times more frequently in men than in women, at the median age of 74 years, whereas an environmental exposure to asbestos causes the same number of MMs in men and women, at younger ages. We studied the geology of Nevada to identify mineral fibers in the environment. We compared MM mortality in different Nevada counties, per sex and age group, for the 1999 to 2010 period. We identified the presence of carcinogenic minerals in Nevada, including actinolite asbestos, erionite, winchite, magnesioriebeckite, and richterite. We discovered that, compared with the United States and other Nevada counties, Clark and Nye counties, in southern Nevada, had a significantly higher proportion of MM that occurred in young individuals (