Philadelphia-Area Hit Hard By Asbestos Related Deaths, Study Shows

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- The legacy of asbestos in the Philadelphia region is one of the worst in the country, according to a new study.

Annual mortality rates from asbestos-triggered diseases are far higher than the national average, according to a the Environmental Working Group Action Fund found.

Across the country, about 5 deaths out of every 100,000 are caused from diseases associated with exposure to the deadly carcinogen, the report shows.

In Delaware County, that rate jumps to an astronomic 12.9 deaths per 100,000, where 1,078 of its residents have passed away from asbestos illnesses from 1999 until 2013.

The analysis combines federal records of deaths from mesothelioma and asbestosis from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with a formula developed by international cancer researchers with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) for estimating lung cancer deaths from asbestos.

Other counties in the region that bear an outsize burden for asbestos-caused disease include:

• Montgomery County: 1,272 deaths (1999-2013), 10.8 annual mortality rate
• Philadelphia County: 1,345 deaths (1999-2013), 5.9 annual morality rate
• Bucks County: 747 deaths (1999-2013), 8.0 annual mortality rate
• Chester County: 439 deaths (1999-2013), 6.1 annual mortality rate

Pennsylvania ranks 3rd among all 50 states for the most deaths during that period with more than 14,200 residents of the Keystone State succumbing to diseases triggered by asbestos. Of those, nearly 5,000 occurred in the 5 Pennsylvania counties highlighted above.

Only California and Florida saw more residents die during that period of time (1999-2103) from asbestos exposure.