Asbestos still poses a threat to global health: now is the time for action

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos still poses a threat to global health: now is the time for action, by P.D. Sly, R. Chase, J. Kolbe, et al (The Medical Journal of Australia, 2010).

The study

• Authors: P.D. Sly, R. Chase, J. Kolbe, P. Thompson, L. Gupta, M. Daube, I. Olver, D. Vallance
• Journal: The Medical Journal of Australia
• Published: 2010;193(4):198-9
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 6 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Australia should support international bans on asbestos trade.

In plain English

This was an editorial, an opinion article reporting no new research data, written by eight Australian authors on behalf of their professional organisations. It argued that asbestos remains a global health threat. Citing other sources, the authors stated that all forms of asbestos are recognised as human carcinogens, that there is no safe level of exposure, and that an estimated 125 million people worldwide are still exposed. They wrote that chrysotile has made up 95% of asbestos produced and used globally since 1990, and that over 2 million tonnes were produced in 2008. They described a Safe Work Australia survey in which tradespeople generally lacked understanding of which materials may contain asbestos. They also cited Quebec reports of a failure to achieve 'controlled use' of chrysotile. They noted that efforts to list chrysotile under the Rotterdam Convention had failed because of opposition from asbestos-producing countries, including Canada. The authors called for Australia to support the international effort to ban the mining and manufacture of all forms of asbestos, and for more education about its dangers.

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: Editorial (opinion piece); no original study or data
• Who was studied: No population was studied. The editorial discusses asbestos exposure in Australia and worldwide, especially in developing countries in Asia and Eastern Europe.
• Exposure: Asbestos in general, with a focus on the continuing trade in chrysotile (white asbestos), mostly used in asbestos cement sheets and pipes, and on asbestos left in older buildings
• Main results:
  • Statement (citing other sources): an estimated 125 million people around the world are still exposed to asbestos in their home and work environments
  • Statement: chrysotile accounts for 95% of asbestos produced and used globally since 1990
  • Statement (citing the US Geological Survey): over 2 million tonnes of asbestos were produced in 2008
  • Statement (citing other sources): there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos
  • Statement (citing a Safe Work Australia survey): tradespeople generally lacked understanding of which materials may contain asbestos
  • Statement: reports from the National Public Health Institute of Quebec show a failure to achieve 'controlled use' of chrysotile, even in Quebec
  • Statement: repeated efforts to include chrysotile under the Rotterdam Convention failed because of opposition from countries which mine and manufacture asbestos, including Canada
• The authors' conclusion: The authors called for Australia and Australians to strongly support the latest international effort to ban the mining and manufacture of all forms of asbestos, to increase education about its dangers, and for legislators to redouble efforts against asbestos-related diseases.

Topics

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

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