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A new study has underlined the high lung cancer rates of Royal Australian Navy veterans compared to other armed forces, with the deadly spike likely caused by exposure to killer asbestos onboard naval vessels.
University of Adelaide and Oxford University researchers collected data from 30,085 Australian and United Kingdom navy personnel who served in the 1950s and '60s, a time when asbestos-containing materials was present in naval vessels.
The study found high incidences of asbestos-related lung cancers among the veterans.
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Researchers estimated the proportion of lung cancers related to onboard asbestos exposure were 27 per cent in Australian seamen and 12 per cent in British seamen.
"We found the lung cancer rate was higher overall in naval personnel than in the other armed services," Dr Richie Gun, from the University of Adelaide, said.
"While smoking remains the dominant cause of lung cancer, it is unlikely the excess could be explained by a higher smoking rate in the navy."
Asbestos is a carcinogen that causes pleural plaques, asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer which is almost always fatal.
Although actual measurements of airborne asbestos levels were not available, and estimates are difficult, Gun said the study concluded the higher lung cancer rate in sailors was most probably caused by onboard asbestos exposure.
The study included veterans of the Korean War.
Assessing health data of navy, army and air force personnel, lung cancer was highest in the navy and lowest in the air force, with the exception of the Korean War.
The Korean War data showed army had the highest rates of lung cancer.
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Asbestos-containing materials were built into Australian and British naval vessels throughout the 20th century.
Programs for asbestos elimination only began in the 1980s.
Although asbestos was widespread in vessels, the greatest likelihood of onboard exposure to airborne asbestos was to personnel working in the confines of engine rooms, the study said.
Common engine maintenance procedures are known to have disturbed asbestos on pipework, turbines, boilers and other machinery, putting sailors at risk.
Ventilation did exist in engine rooms, but that was mainly to control heat, and safety measures now mandatory did not apply at the time.
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