2024-02-22 13:14:14
It’s all about proper disposal: Last summer, the asbestos-contaminated former working people’s clubhouse in Halberstadt was demolished. Image: dpa
The mineral fiber asbestos was long considered a miracle material in industry because of its heat and acid resistance. But people are feeling its harmful consequences particularly strongly today – especially in two regions of Germany.
It started with a dry cough. A cough that could not be cured with any common home remedy or medication. When the chest pain became more severe, the family doctor referred the 80-year-old patient to a cardiologist. He found no evidence of a heart attack, but expressed another suspicion: pleural cancer. “This was confirmed after a thorough examination by us,” reports Martin Metzenmacher, who works as a specialist in hematology and oncology at the Essen University Medical Center, where there is one of the 15 pleural cancer centers in Germany.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma, an aggressively growing tumor, is one of the rarer types of cancer in Europe. On average in Germany, the frequency is 1.1 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. But there are regions with a five or even six times higher frequency of pleural cancer, such as the Ruhr area or northern German cities and districts with large companies such as shipyards.
#asbestos #ticking #time #bomb