[Malignant mesothelioma in two married couples exposed to asbestos].

BACKGROUND: the relationship between past asbestos exposure and the onset of malignant mesothelioma (MM) is well established. However, defining the exposure is not always easy, as it occurs decades before the onset of the disease.

OBJECTIVES: this report describes four cases of MM diagnosed in two different married couples, both exposed to asbestos fibers: husbands at work and wives for cohabiting and washing their work overalls.

DESIGN: case report.

METHODS: the information was collected through interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed by occupational hygienists during the activity of epidemiological surveillance of this disease. The results of the mineral content of asbestos fibers performed on lung parenchymal from one of the female cases are available.

RESULTS: these two cases show a longer latency in the lesser exposed confirming what an occupational epidemiological study has recently highlighted.

CONCLUSIONS: whenever good quality information collected during interviews are available, skilled occupational hygienists are able to reconstruct past exposures in quali-quantitative terms.