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Indoor and Built Environment
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A Reconnaissance Study of a Potential Emerging Mexican Mesothelioma Epidemic due to Fibrous Zeolite Exposure

E.B. Ilgren

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA, DrEdilgren{at}aol.com

Mariana Ortega Breña

National University of Mexico, Mexico City, México

Javier Castro Larragoitia

San Luis Potosí University, México

Gustavo Loustaunau Navarrete

Cuernavaca, Morelos, México

Alvar Fuentes Breña

National University of Mexico, Mexico City, México

Edgar Krauss

National University of Mexico, Mexico City, México

Guillermina Fehér

National University of Mexico, Mexico City, México

A mesothelioma cluster has been found in a remote part of central Mexico. The region is primarily agricultural with no clear source of industrial asbestos exposure. This investigation has revealed that the mesothelioma cluster was situated on an area heavily laden with zeolites. Fibrous erionite was not found. However, the geological conditions and mineralogical characteristics of the affected area very closely resemble those parts of Turkey where mesotheliomas are epidemic and those parts of the western United States where erionite was taken for biological testing. Those biological tests abundantly confirmed the extreme carcinogenicity of erionite for mesothelioma production. This preliminary study should prompt additional investigation to confirm definitively the cause of the elevated mesothelioma risk.

Key Words: Reconnaissance study • Zeolite • Mexico • Mesothelioma epidemic

Indoor and Built Environment, Vol. 17, No. 6, 496-515 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1420326X08096610
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