Exposure to asbestos is the main known cause of peritoneal mesothelioma.

Epidemiology of peritoneal mesothelioma:
The epidemiology of peritoneal mesothelioma is complicated by possible geographic and temporal variations in diagnostic practices. Exposure to asbestos is the main known cause of peritoneal mesothelioma. Results on peritoneal mesothelioma have been reported for 34 cohorts exposed to asbestos, resulted in a lower proportion of total deaths from peritoneal mesothelioma than studies of workers exposed to amphibole or mixed type of asbestos.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma: Mesothelioma of the Peritoneum
Information on peritoneal mesothelioma, one form of the deadly mesothelioma cancer. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a disease that affects the lining of the abdomen, or peritoneum. Sometimes doctors refer to this disease as mesothelioma of the peritoneum. For peritoneal mesothelioma, it is not clearly understood how the asbestos fibers become lodged in the abdomen's peritoneum lining.

In many cases of mesothelioma, asbestos exposure occurred in the workplace. Information on the shipyards, metalworks, power plants, and other sites where you may have been exposed.