Workplace Exposure
Historically, mesothelioma is a disease that is diagnosed in men much more often than in women. That still holds true today. The major reason for this has nothing to do with genetics or that the male gender is pre-disposed to developing this form of asbestos cancer. Instead, the higher rate of the disease among men is simply due to the fact that, throughout history, men have been much more likely to hold jobs that put them in daily contact with dangerous asbestos.
Nonetheless, there are cases of women who have developed mesothelioma due to on-the-job exposure to asbestos and doctors continue to diagnose the disease in women who likely inhaled dangerous fibers while they worked.
Women and World War II
In the decades prior to World War II, women assumed what was said to be their rightful role in the family. Most married at a fairly young age, tended to their home, and took care of their children. A handful of well-to-do young ladies were given the privilege of attending college and usually became teachers or chose some other profession that generally did not involve workplace hazards. Hence, the men made up the vast majority of the workforce, employed in a wide range of jobs from factory worker to doctor.
When World War II came about and the United States joined the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the face of the workforce in America changed. Tens of thousands of young men, mostly those who were employed in hourly jobs, enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces and went off to fight the war, either abroad or in a support position somewhere in the U.S. Suddenly, there was no one to “man” the factories or assume the other work that had primarily been done by men, thus exposing them to risks like mesothelioma disease.
At this point, the women of America stepped up and went to work outside the home. Many were involved in industries that helped support the war effort. “Rosie the Riveter” became the cultural icon for the thousands of American women that went to work on the assembly line, many producing munitions and other supplies for the soldiers that fought in the battles of World War II.
But while these women went to work gladly, many of them were suddenly facing hazards they had never before encountered. Asbestos was one of those hazards. Women who worked in the nation’s shipyards were especially susceptible to asbestos exposure as were those who toiled in the factories, where asbestos was not only used as insulation but also in hundreds of war-related, commercial, and household products that were manufactured there. It wasn’t unusual for any of these women to end their day covered in asbestos dust, just as their male counterparts did when they worked the same jobs before they went off to war.
As a result of this war-time exposure, many women developed mesothelioma cancer decades later. That’s because they were rarely given any sort of gear to protect them from inhalation, even though it was already apparent that asbestos was causing health problems among those who worked with it on a regular basis.
Continuing Exposure
Once the war was over, most women went back to their homes. However, some enjoyed their new found freedom and extra income and continued to work. And as the decades progressed, more and more women entered the workforce, assuming not only positions like teacher or secretary, but also factory jobs and others that would continue to expose them to asbestos.
Today, women in the U.S. Armed Forces continue to be at risk for asbestos exposure, particularly those who are serving overseas in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where asbestos is still in use. Places like old war-torn buildings that are damaged or destroyed can contain asbestos and, often, soldiers encounter the toxic mineral without ever knowing it. In the future, there will likely be a resurgence of cases of pleural mesothelioma caused by military-related exposure among both men and women who served their country in foreign lands.
Women who have served as firefighters, police officers, or emergency personnel also have the potential of encountering asbestos during a fire or other disaster. As a matter of fact, the first person to die of mesothelioma after the World Trade Center attacks was a woman – an emergency responder with the Fire Department of New York who had inhaled large quantities of asbestos during the days and months after the tragedy.
Source
American Cancer Society: Mesothelioma
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/mesothelioma
