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FILE NAME Newspaper & Magazine Articles NMA DATE 1972 Sept 30 DOC NMA068 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION NYT - Shipyard Workers of 1940's Told of Cancer Peril Shipyard Workers of 1940's Told of Cancer Peril By JANE E. BRODY Special to The New York Times New York Times Current file Sep 30 1972 ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times 1851 - 2002 Pg 62 Shipyard Workers of 1940's Told of Cancer Peril By JANE E. BRODY Special to The New York Times _ LOS ANGELES . Sept.Sept. An expert on environmental medi- cine warned here today that millions of men and women who were directly or indirectly exposed to asbestos while they worked in shipyards in World War II faced the possibility of an imminent epidemic of a rare cancer The cancer is called mesothelioma a tumor of the lining the chest or abdomen At present it is invariably fatal although the lives of some victims can be prolonged for as long as five years Research indicates that meso- thelioma as caused primarily by exposure to asbestos particles which lodge in body tissues and remain there indefi- nitely the expert Dr. Irving J. Selikoff told the Seventh National Cancer Conference Dr. Selikoff who has been studying the effects of expo- sure to asbestos for two decades is director of the Environmental Sciences Labo- ratory at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York Studies by Dr. Selikoff have shown that 7 per cent of asbestos insulation workers suc cumb to mesothelioma Now the doctor said it appears that even people who did not work direct- ly with asbestos but who were indirectly exposed to asbestos particles may also be in danger of developing the disease which tends to occur about 30 years after the initial exposure to asbestos Among those now in danger Dr. Selikoff said are the 3 million Americans who worked shipyards in in the early nine- teen forties His warning was echoed by Dr. Frank Rauscher director of the National Cancer Institute who urged such work- Dr. The New York Times Irving J. Selikoff ers to get periodic checkups including chest rays 1 Dr. Selikoff said that he and others had already noticed a dramatic increase in the occurrence of mesothelioma which a decade ago accounted for only one or two deaths in 10,000 Dr. Selikoff said that the Brit- ish whose shipyards were re- built about five years before American shipyards geared up for the war effort began no- ticing mesothelioma cases among former shipyard work- four years ago Such cases are already be- ing seen in our country he told the meeting which is sponsored by the National Can- | cer Institute and the American Cancer Society In the past year a number of such World War II mesotheliomas have been brought to our attention The last five cases had worked in East or West Coast shipyards an electrician a tinsmith an engineer a steam- fitter and a welder None worked directly with asbestos he said but were undoubtedly exposed indirectly by workers who did A sixth case that he investi- gated was a man who died of mesothelioma at the age of 30 and who had never worked in a shipyard But much asbestos was and found in the his history lungs man's showed he was born in 1940 just two blocks from the Brooklyn Navy Yard : Dr. Selikoff also expressed concern about the possible risks faced by people in the general urban population who had neither direct nor indirect occupational exposure to as- bestos but were likely to inhale the tiny particles from a wide variety of environmental sources These sources he said include buildings under construction papier asbeslined conditioning ducts brake linings some ironing board covers | United States production of asbestos has increased from | 500,000 tons a year in 1930 to four million tons a year currently he said Dr. Selikoff added that anal- ysis of air samples from 60 American cities showed that all had asbestos particles in the air and that nearly everyone on whom an autopsy was performed was found to have some asbestos particles in his lungs In asbestos workers the mineral particles have also been found to enhance the develop- ment of smoking lung cancer which kills 20 per cent of these workers Mesothelioma occurs as mul- tiple tumors that in the chest produce such symptoms as pain coughs and a sense of fullness The disease can be detected in its early stages by chest ray In the abdomen however early symptoms rarely occur and it is not until the abdomen swells late in the disease that it is usually diagnosed Dr. Selikoff said Although the disease cannot now be cured the use- ful lives of many patients can be prolonged by surgery radiation and chemotherapy Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission