Because most readers of this blog hail from the US, that's where I tend to look for newsworthy items. However, the following has just dropped into my inbox and, quite frankly, it horrified me:

According to the results of a British study that was released in Melbourne on Tuesday, 10% of all carpenters in Australia born before 1950 will die of mesothelioma. They will be among 30,000 Australians who will die from mesothelioma between 2000 and 2050.

Cancer research specialist Professor Julian Peto made the findings during research into the lifetime occupations of 600 mesothelioma patients and an analysis of international trends in mesothelioma mortality.

Citizens of the United States can take some comfort from the fact that the rate for Australia and the UK is more than five times that of the United States, mainly because of different construction methods.

Nevertheless, a fifth of a lot is still a lot...

The Australian