Although many countries ban or restrict the use of asbestos, that
ban is not universal. Some developing countries continue to mine and use
asbestos – considered a toxic mineral by nearly all health officials –
because it is relatively inexpensive compared to other substitute
products. Surprisingly, the United States has not completely banned
asbestos – only six asbestos products are banned while many other
asbestos-containing products
continue to be used in the U.S. Keep reading to learn more about other
countries and how asbestos is regulated around the globe.
Governments
of India and Vietnam, among others, maintain that because some types
of asbestos are less harmful than others, safe handling will prevent
exposure. That position opposes the view of the World Health
Organization (WHO), which argues that the best way to eliminate
asbestos-related diseases is to stop mining and using
asbestos altogether.
WHO
officials estimate that 125 million people around the world are
annually exposed to asbestos in the workplace, and the International
Labor Organization says about 100,000 workers die each year from an
asbestos-related disease.
In 2010, the American Public Health
Association joined the call of at least three major international
health organizations in asking for a global
ban on asbestos
use. The World Federation of Public Health Organizations, the
International Commission on Occupational Health, and the International
Trade Union Confederation earlier recommended such a ban.
According to Jock McCulloch and Geoffrey Tweedale, authors of Defending the Indefensible: The Global Asbestos Industry and its Fight for Survival,
“Asbestos is still mined and used in the developing world, where the
problems that were experienced in America and Europe in the 20th
century are now being duplicated in China, Russia, India and other
countries in the Far East.”
Here is a list of countries with
well-documented histories of asbestos production and use and what is
being done to limit exposure.
Canada
Well known for its cold weather and love of hockey,
Canada
has recently been recognized as the country responsible for not adding
asbestos to the international hazardous list. Canada’s asbestos mining
efforts started around 1850 when chrysotile asbestos deposits were
discovered in Thetford. By 1876, approximately 50 tons of asbestos were
being mined in Quebec. By the 1950s, the annual mining haul was more
than 900,000 tons.
In early 2011, the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos,
Quebec, received scrutiny after the Canadian government proposed a $58
million grant to reopen the mine. Because private investors failed to
raise $25 million by the July 1, 2011 deadline to purchase to mine, the
grant from the Quebec government has been delayed for an unknown
amount of time. This delay is intended to give investors more time to
raise funds.
As recently as June 2011, Canada again decided not
to support adding chrysotile asbestos to the list of hazardous
substances in the Rotterdam Convention, an international treaty that
promotes unity and responsibility about exporting and importing
hazardous chemicals and substances. Canada is the only G8 country that
has not voted to include asbestos in the treaty.
Despite its
hard-line position, Canada actually uses very little asbestos. It
exports 96 percent of the mined mineral to Asian countries.
India
The
second-most populous country with more than 1.2 billion people,
India’s extensive use of asbestos will likely have a significant impact
on the future health of the country’s population. Experts predict a
pattern similar to what developed in the United States over the past 50
years: a dramatic rise in the number of cases of asbestos-related
diseases.
India no longer mines asbestos, but it is the top
importer of Canadian asbestos. About 20 years ago, India handled
500,000 tons of asbestos cement roofing. Today, that number is closer
to four million tons.
India in 2011 changed its long-held
stance and voted to add asbestos to the hazardous list at the 2011
Rotterdam Convention. The Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) is a
group of scientists,
doctors,
public health researchers, trade unions, activists and civil society
groups that condemn the use of asbestos and push for an immediate ban
on asbestos. BANI has been successful in drawing attention to the
hazards and toxic effects of asbestos exposure.
United Kingdom
The
United Kingdom
in 1931 introduced the Asbestos Industry Regulations. At the time, the
regulations determined only the “safe” level of exposure. In 1960, the
legal exposure limit was increased, placing workers at a higher risk
of contracting
mesothelioma
and other asbestos-related diseases. By 1968, the standards for
exposure levels were lowered to reduce the risk of contracting disease.
England, though, is paying for years of higher level
exposure. In 2008, the last year for which figures are available, 2,249
people in the UK died of mesothelioma. The UK has prohibited the trade,
application and supply of crocidolite and amosite asbestos since the
1980s. Chrysotile asbestos was prohibited in 1999.
Australia
Australia
is another country with a sweeping history of asbestos use, although
its heavy-use years are long gone. Its peak year was 1975 when the
country used about 70,000 tons. But years of overuse impacted the
long-term health of Australian citizens: There were 551 deaths related
to mesothelioma cancer documented in 2007.
Perhaps no place in
the world can show the toxicity of asbestos better than the town of
Wittenoom in Western Australia. Mining began there in 1939, and
eventually the predominant asbestos was crocidolite, replacing the
less-toxic chrysotile asbestos. Multiple health reports indicate that
exposure to crocidolite asbestos leads to an increase in the development
of asbestos-related diseases.
Because of Wittenoom’s long
history of mining and the exposures that occurred as a result of that
history, Western Australia has the highest rate of mesothelioma and
asbestos-related cancers in the world. The town was shut down in 1966
because of low profits and rising concerns for asbestos-related
diseases.
Russia
Russia, which is the largest country
in the world in terms of land mass, also leads the planet in asbestos
production. In 2000, asbestos productions reached approximately 700,000
tons, much more than Canada and China. By the year 2008, mining
produced more than one million tons of asbestos.
Russia’s high
production numbers stem from the city Asbest, located about 900 miles
northeast of Moscow. Once known as “the dying city” because of its high
rates of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, Asbest is
home to a mine that measures seven miles long, one-and-a-half-miles wide
and more than 1,000 feet deep.
About 500,000 tons of asbestos is gathered from the mine each year.
Unlike
Canada, Russia has remained a large user of asbestos. It is the
world’s third-largest consumer, trailing only China and India. Russia
has widely used asbestos in roofing materials, automobile brakes and
insulation. About 3,000 asbestos-containing products have been labeled
as safe by the Chief Sanitary Officer of Russia.
Annual
asbestos-related deaths were 10,400 in 2005. With little opposition
towards the use of asbestos, Russia will likely continue to use and
export this toxic substance.
South Africa
South
Africa began mining asbestos around 1883 after a crocidolite asbestos
mine was established in the Northern Cape region in Koegas. The country
developed into a major producer of crocidolite asbestos, supplying
Australia and the United Kingdom with the heat-resistant mineral for
many years during the 20th century.
South Africa’s mining of
asbestos peaked in 1977 at 380,000 tons, making it the third-largest
supplier in the world. But within a decade, the Northern Cape mines
were closed because of the medical risks involved and a growing concern
of asbestos-related litigation.
Because the health effects of
asbestos exposure
were largely hidden by the asbestos mining industry, there was little
public awareness of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases
until the late 1970s. Following the lead of the Northern Cape mines,
several other asbestos mines in South Africa also closed, and residents
of Prieska formed Concerned People Against Asbestos (CPAA), which
focuses on improving access to compensation for citizens battling
asbestos-related diseases.
China
China is one of the
world’s largest producers of asbestos. The country mined more than
450,000 tons in 2000, a total that placed it behind only Russia in
asbestos production. Since, Chinese production has fallen. Its mining
total fell to about 280,000 tons in 2008.
Unlike Canada,
Chinese manufacturers and builders consume large amounts of asbestos,
using it for roofing materials, walls, brake pads, gaskets and cloth.
Jukka Takala, director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at
Work, believes the annual Chinese death toll from mesothelioma and other
asbestos-related diseases could reach as high as 15,000 by 2035.
At
the 2009 Asian Asbestos Conference, a ‘Hong Kong Declaration Towards a
Complete Ban on all forms of Asbestos’ and asbestos processing was
recommended. The declaration asked for asbestos use to be phased out
and recognized the need of assistance for those suffering from
asbestos-related diseases.
Brazil
Brazil
is the world's third-largest producer of asbestos. It is also the
third-largest exporter, shipping primarily to Asia, Mexico and Colombia.
Although exporting asbestos brings in a significant amount of revenue
for exporters, Brazil keeps a large share of the mineral within its
borders. The country used 94,000 tons as recently as 2007, ranking it
No. 5 among the world's asbestos consumers.
There are 11 Brazilian
companies
that continue to mine asbestos and produce asbestos-containing
products. The production generates about $1.3 billion annually for the
country's economy. While these companies employ nearly 3,500 people, the
asbestos industry says mining the toxic substance creates about 200,000
jobs.
Estimates predict the rate of mesothelioma and
asbestos-related deaths will continue rising in Brazil's future. Dr.
Ubiratan de Paula Santos, a pulmonologist at the University of São Paulo
Medical School, treats about 20 mesothelioma cases a year, and he says
that number is slowly climbing. The majority of his patients are current
and former asbestos plant workers.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
is one of the world's largest producers of asbestos, mining 230,000
tons of it in 2009. While Kazakhstan exports most of the mineral it
mines, it does consume some. Houses, apartment buildings, hospitals,
schools,
commercial buildings, brakes and other products are manufactured with
asbestos products. Recent developments, however, may turn this trend.
In
2009, 75 participants of a conference on the use of chrysotile asbestos
and its health effects recommended the Kazakh government support a
national program to eliminate asbestos-related diseases. Since the
conference, the first of its kind in Kazakhstan, other seminars on the
side effects of asbestos have pushed the notion that Kazakh citizens are
ill-informed about asbestos-containing materials. Those leading the
seminars say there is now stronger public participation in monitoring
existing asbestos regulations.
