Modalities of exposure of malignant mesothelioma (MM) cases (N, %) collected by the National Mesothelioma Register (ReNaM) disentangled by familial, environmental or leisure activity exposure categories and gender (Italy, 1993–2008)
| Men | Women | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of exposures* | Per cent | Number of exposures* | Per cent | |
| Familial: cohabitation with (530 MM cases) | ||||
| Parents | 74 | 74.0 | 138 | 23.9 |
| Husband/wife | 3 | 3.0 | 354 | 61.4 |
| Son/daughter | 5 | 5.0 | 27 | 4.7 |
| Other cohabitants | 18 | 18.0 | 58 | 10.1 |
| Overall | 100 | 100 | 577 | 100 |
| Environmental: residence near (514 MM cases) | ||||
| Asbestos cement plant | 103 | 43.6 | 144 | 44.6 |
| Railways | 18 | 7.6 | 22 | 6.8 |
| Rail stock building, repair and demolition plant | 10 | 4.2 | 7 | 2.2 |
| Docks | 8 | 3.4 | 6 | 1.9 |
| Shipbuilding and repair | 8 | 3.4 | 7 | 2.2 |
| Steel industry plants | 2 | 0.8 | 12 | 3.7 |
| Chemical or petrochemical plants | 7 | 3.0 | 8 | 2.5 |
| Mines or mills | 7 | 3.0 | 9 | 2.8 |
| Others | 73 | 30.9 | 108 | 33.4 |
| Overall | 236 | 100 | 323 | 100 |
| Use of asbestos materials containing asbestos† | 29 | 34.5 | 92 | 80.7 |
| Home masonry | 25 | 29.8 | 3 | 2.6 |
| Thermal insulation at home | 9 | 10.7 | 2 | 1.8 |
| Leisure activities (188 MM cases) | ||||
| Plumbing or electric repair at home | 2 | 2.4 | 2 | 1.8 |
| Car repair | 4 | 4.8 | – | |
| Other activities | 15 | 17.9 | 15 | 13.2 |
| Overall | 84 | 100 | 114 | 100 |
*The number of exposures exceeds the number of mesothelioma cases due to the possibility of multiple exposures for a single case.
†Including exposures due to the presence of asbestos in objects not used in a working context (eg, ironing boards, rural tool sheds).