CASE REPORT
Pleural mesothelioma: Case-report of uncommon occupational asbestos exposure in a small furniture industry
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University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
(Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, Occupational Medicine Unit “Salvatore Maugeri”)
Corresponding author
Enrico Oddone
University of Pavia, Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, Occupational Medicine Unit “Salvatore Maugeri,” Via Severino Boezio 24, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2016;29(3):523-6
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ABSTRACT
The relationship between asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma is no longer disputed, although it is not always
easy to trace past occupational exposure. This report describes a case of uncommon asbestos exposure of a small furniture
industry worker, who subsequently died of pleural malignant mesothelioma, to stress the crucial importance of a full
reconstruction of the occupational history, both for legal and compensation purposes. Sarcomatoid pleural mesothelioma
was diagnosed in a 70-year-old man, who was previously employed as a carpenter in a small furniture industry. He worked
for about 6 years in the small factory, was exposed to asbestos during the assembly of the furniture inspired by classical
architecture, in which asbestos cement tubes were used to reproduce classical columns. During this production process
no specific work safety measures were applied, nor masks or local aspirators. No extra-professional exposure to asbestos
was identified. This mesothelioma case was investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s assignment that commissioned expert
evidence on the legal accountability for the disease. Despite its uncommon expositive circumstance, the length of latency
(about 30 years), the duration of exposure, the clinical and histochemical features are all consistent with literature evidence,
accounting for the occupational origin of this malignancy.