Abnormally High Rates of Exceptionally Young Cases of Malignant Mesothelioma In Southern Nevada: Preventing Environmental Exposure to Carcinogenic Minerals.

A recent analysis of data from the Nevada Central Cancer Registry indicates abnormally high rates of exceptionally young cases of malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer with unusual elevated rates in women. These data reveal that an environmental exposure to carcinogenic mineral fibers is the cause of these preventable diseases in a part of the population. Eight minerals have been found that are either known or suspected carcinogens: Mg-riebeckite, winchite, tremolite, actinolite, brucite, palygorskite, sepiolite, and erionite.  The primary transfer pathway is through human exposure to dust eroding from carcinogenic mineral sources. This dust is emitted by both natural wind and human land use. The southwestern USA is predicted to experience increased drought over the next several decades which will increase both naturally occurring and anthropogenically-produced dust. Dust generated via travel on dirt roads in addition to off-road-vehicle (ORV) recreational activity can significantly increase human exposure. Research is needed to localize the clusters of mesothelioma, find the source(s) of fibrous and asbestiform minerals, characterize in vitro and in vivo the carcinogenic potential of the fibers, identify their pathways into human populations, and develop management strategies to lessen and/or prevent human exposure in order to improve public health.