A recent study of the ethnicity of mesothelioma patients has found that certain immigrant groups from Europe had higher death rates from the disease than those born in Australia.
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The research found that immigrants from the U.K., Ireland, Germany and Italy prior to 1970 had higher rates of death from mesothelioma between 1981 and 2012 than Australian-born natives. It’s thought that many of these European immigrants would have worked in industries in Australia where exposure to asbestos was common.
Australia has the highest rate of mesothelioma cases in the world due mainly to the mining of asbestos and manufacturing of asbestos-based products beginning in the 1950s.
Between the 1940s and 1970s, immigrants from Europe had to work in Commonwealth-approved jobs for two years, these jobs were often in industries where they came into regular contact with asbestos such as manufacturing, construction, and shipbuilding.
Changes to immigration laws were implemented in the 1970s and immigrants were no longer required to take Government-approved jobs in blue collar industries and subsequently, the number of deaths from mesothelioma in immigrants after this time was reduced. Read more about this story here.
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