Asbestos is still with us: repeat call for a universal ban

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos is still with us: repeat call for a universal ban, by C. Ramazzini (Odontology, 2010).

The study

• Author: C. Ramazzini
• Journal: Odontology
• Published: 2010;98(2):97-101
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

All forms of asbestos are proven human carcinogens. All forms of asbestos cause malignant mesothelioma, lung, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers, and may cause gastrointestinal and other cancers. No exposure to asbestos is without risk, and there is no safe threshold of exposure to asbestos. Nonetheless, a large number of countries still use, import, and export asbestos and asbestos-containing products. And still today in many countries that have banned other forms of asbestos, the so-called "controlled use" of chrysotile asbestos continues to be permitted, an exemption that has no basis in medical science but rather reflects the political and economic influence of the asbestos mining and manufacturing industry. To protect the health of all people in the world - industrial workers, construction workers, dental professionals, women, and children, now and in future generations - the Collegium Ramazzini calls again today on all countries of the world, as we have repeatedly in the past, to join in the international endeavor to ban all forms of asbestos. An international ban on asbestos is urgently needed.

In plain English

This article was a special commentary: a position statement by the Collegium Ramazzini, an international academic society in occupational and environmental medicine. It reported no new research. It summarized published evidence and the positions of health agencies, and cited other studies for its figures. The authors stated that all forms of asbestos cause malignant mesothelioma and lung, laryngeal and ovarian cancers, and may cause gastrointestinal and other cancers. They also stated that there is no safe level of exposure. They argued that permitting the 'controlled use' of chrysotile asbestos has no basis in medical science. They noted that asbestos was banned in 52 countries, fewer than a third of WHO member countries. They also noted that annual world production remained over 2 million tons, and that repeated efforts to list chrysotile under the Rotterdam Convention had failed. Writing in a dental journal, they said the debate over asbestos exposure in dentistry should end with a total ban on asbestos in the dental profession. The authors concluded that an international ban on the mining and use of asbestos is urgently needed.

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: Special commentary (position statement) summarizing published evidence; no original data
• Who was studied: No study population. The statement is by the Collegium Ramazzini, an international academic society, and addresses asbestos use and exposure worldwide, including in dentistry.
• Exposure: All forms of asbestos, with emphasis on chrysotile, which the commentary describes as the only variety in international trade in the 21st century
• Main results:
  • The authors stated that all forms of asbestos cause malignant mesothelioma, lung, laryngeal and ovarian cancers.
  • The authors stated that the scientific community agrees there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos (citing other sources).
  • The authors stated that continued permission for 'controlled use' of chrysotile in countries that banned other forms has no basis in medical science.
  • The commentary reported that asbestos was banned in 52 countries, which make up less than a third of WHO member countries.
  • The commentary reported that annual world asbestos production remained at over 2 million tons.
  • The commentary reported that repeated efforts to include chrysotile asbestos under the Rotterdam Convention had failed.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that an international ban on the mining and use of asbestos is urgently needed. For dentistry, they wrote that the debate should end with a total ban on asbestos in the dental profession.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Malignant Mesothelioma, Ovarian Cancer, No Safe Level of Exposure, Controlled Use, Chrysotile, Collegium Ramazzini.

Related studies

• Asbestos is still with us: repeat call for a universal ban — C. Ramazzini (2010)
• Asbestos is still with us: repeat call for a universal ban — Collegium Ramazzini (2010)
• Asbestos is still with us: repeat call for a universal ban — Collegium Ramazzini (2010)
• Asbestos is still with us: repeat call for a universal ban — Collegium Ramazzini (2010)
• Asbestos is still with us: repeat call — Collegium Ramazzini (2010)
• Asbestos is still with us: Repeat call for a universal ban — C. Ramazzini (2011)

Browse return to medical research.