Mesothelioma Risk Factors
Working with or around asbestos
The evidence is overwhelming. Asbestos is the only cause of mesothelioma. While some people may have some exposure, the people with the highest mesothelioma risk have occupations where asbestos exposure occurs regularly and those that involve working with asbestos-containing products. High-risk occupations for asbestos exposure include:
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Secondary exposure to asbestos
Second hand asbestos exposure occurs when family members bring asbestos home on their clothes. Family members may have had significant exposure to asbestos dust at work and unknowingly carry it into the home environment on work clothes, skin, and hair. Children enthusiastically greeting parents or grandparents after work may breathe in the loose dust, or it can be transferred to their clothing or hands. Shaking out dusty work clothing before laundering could cause daily exposure. And it is suspected that some of this dust might contaminate food—eventually leading to peritoneal mesothelioma.
The role of smoking
Experts agree that smoking does not cause mesothelioma. The only known mesothelioma risk factor is exposure to asbestos.