THE LATENCY PERIOD FOR ASBESTOS-RELATED DISEASES

Asbestos exposure has been compared to a time bomb ticking inside the exposed person's body. This is an accurate description, because asbestos-related diseases have a long latency period after first exposure.

Asbestos causes mesothelioma, a cancer of the chest wall or stomach lining, the only known cause of which is asbestos exposure. Asbestos also causes lung cancer, and has been linked to other forms of cancer as well. Asbestos does not cause these forms of cancer immediately. After a person is first exposed to asbestos, there is a latency period, which is a long period of time after first exposure, in which the asbestos does no apparent damage. However, approximately fifteen years after first exposure, asbestos-related cancers begin to develop, and they can develop twenty, thirty, forty or even more years after first exposure.

The same is true for asbestosis, a non-cancerous condition in which scar tissue builds up inside the lungs. Asbestosis generally takes at least twenty years after first exposure to develop, but can show up much later than that, in some cases fifty years after first exposure.

Asbestosis and lung cancer have what is referred to as a "dose-response" relationship to asbestos exposure. This means that, the longer a person has been exposed to asbestos, the greater the chances of developing these diseases. A twenty-year Navy boiler tech or engine man has a greater chance of developing lung cancer or asbestosis than a four-year radio man.

Dose-response does not apply, however, to mesothelioma. This form of cancer has been shown to have been caused by extremely minimal asbestos exposures.

It is unknown why one individual, who has worked every day, all day, for thirty-plus years in the engine rooms of ships, never develops asbestosis or cancer, while another person, with relatively light exposure, does. There may be genetic factors which cause certain individuals to have a susceptibility to these diseases. With respect to lung cancer and asbestosis, smoking plays a prominent role. Smoking and asbestos exposure combine to create what is called a synergistic effect; asbestos-exposed persons who also smoked for many years have a much greater chance of contracting lung cancer or asbestosis than those who did not smoke.

Past smoking history has nothing to do, however, with a person's chances of developing mesothelioma.

The bottom line of the discussion of latency periods and asbestos disease is that, even though asbestos was virtually eliminated from most products in the 1970s, persons with a past history of exposure in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, or 1970s need to have regular medical checkups, including chest x-rays. This is especially important because lung cancer, if detected early enough, can be successfully treated.

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