Asbestos and international organizations

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos and international organizations, by L. Tomatis (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2004).

The study

• Author: L. Tomatis
• Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives
• Published: 2004;112(6):A336-7
• Type of article: Comment, Historical article, Letter
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This item is a letter to the editor, not a research study. It reports no new data. The author responded to an article by Ladou (2004) on the failure of international organizations to deal with asbestos. Drawing on earlier publications, the letter outlined the history of medical knowledge about asbestos. It said a link with lung cancer was first reported in the 1930s. It credited Wagner's 1960 report of mesothelioma cases in miners exposed to crocidolite as generally regarded as final proof of the asbestos–mesothelioma link. It noted that a 1976 IARC working group concluded that all commercial forms of asbestos cause cancer in humans. The author stated that asbestos use was still increasing in many parts of the world, with economic concerns often prevailing in developing countries. The author agreed that organizations such as the ILO and the World Health Organization had not acted early or efficiently enough. The author argued that part of the reason was that these organizations were never given the power to make their recommendations the basis for laws.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Letter to the editor (correspondence) commenting on an article by Ladou (2004); no original research
• Exposure: Asbestos in general; the letter refers to asbestos production and export, and to asbestos-containing replacement brake parts in the United States
• Main results:
  • Historical point made in the letter, citing earlier work: a causal association between asbestos and lung carcinoma was first reported in the 1930s in the United States (and in the United Kingdom)
  • Historical point made in the letter: final proof of the causal link between asbestos and mesothelioma is generally attributed to Wagner, who in 1960 reported 30 histologically confirmed mesotheliomas in miners exposed to crocidolite
  • Historical point made in the letter: in 1976 an IARC working group concluded that asbestos in all its commercialized forms is carcinogenic to humans
  • The author stated that asbestos use was still increasing in many parts of the world
  • The author stated that economic considerations often prevail over health concerns, particularly in developing countries
  • The author stated that ILO recommendations on asbestos and aromatic amines have been disregarded by most industrialized countries
  • The author pointed to Canada and the Russian Federation as countries that continue to produce and export asbestos
• The authors' conclusion: The author agreed that international organizations had not acted earlier or more efficiently on asbestos. The author argued that part of the reason was that these organizations were never given the power to make their deliberations and recommendations the basis for legislation.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer.

Related studies

• Collegium Ramazzini call for an international ban on asbestos — P.J. Landrigan, M. Soffritti (2005)
• The International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and its influence on international organizations — N.A. Ashford, B. Castleman, et al. (2002)
• Asbestos poisons World Trade Organization atmosphere — L. Kazan-Allen (2001)
• Controversies at international organizations over asbestos industry influence — B.I. Castleman (2001)
• Minimising health hazards associated with derogated products and in-situ materials containing chrysotile contaminated with amphibole asbestos fibres — R.M. Howie (1999)
• International jurisprudence on trade and environmental health: one step forward, two steps back? — K. Timmermans (2008)

Browse more research in Environmental Health Perspectives, or return to medical research.