Asbestos update

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos update, by L. Reinstein, L. Kazan-Allen (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2007).

The study

• Authors: L. Reinstein, L. Kazan-Allen
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 2007;50(1):73-5
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This article is an editorial, not a research study, and it reported no new data. Its authors were Linda Reinstein, Executive Director and Cofounder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), and Laurie Kazan-Allen, Coordinator of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat. The authors described asbestos-related events during 2006. They quoted an October 2006 World Health Organization policy statement. It estimated that about 125 million people worldwide are exposed to asbestos at work and that at least 90,000 die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis caused by work exposure. They quoted an International Labour Organization official who cited some 100,000 deaths a year. They also quoted a June 2006 ILO resolution calling for an end to future asbestos use. Other events described were a petition by politicians from 42 countries, an Asian Asbestos Conference in Bangkok with delegates from 26 countries, and a European Union awareness campaign launched in September 2006. The last was a mesothelioma research meeting in Chicago with more than 300 attendees from 26 countries. The authors stated that ADAO remains committed to working with US and international groups toward its goals.

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 (commentary and news update; no original research)
• Who was studied: No study population. The editorial describes international asbestos-related events, statements and conferences from April to October 2006.
• Exposure: No exposure was studied. The editorial quotes an ILO resolution stating that all forms of asbestos, including chrysotile, are classified as human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
• Main results:
  • The editorial quotes a WHO policy statement published in October 2006 on The Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases. It estimated that about 125 million people are exposed to asbestos at the workplace and that at least 90,000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis from occupational exposures. These are WHO figures, not findings of this article.
  • The editorial quotes Dr. Jukka Takala of the ILO saying asbestos causes some 100,000 fatalities a year and that there is no 'safe use' of asbestos.
  • On June 14, 2006, the ILO's General Conference adopted a Resolution Concerning Asbestos. It called for eliminating future asbestos use and properly managing asbestos currently in place.
  • On International Workers' Memorial Day (April 28, 2006), politicians from 42 countries issued a petition supporting labor's demands.
  • The Asian Asbestos Conference in Bangkok brought delegates from 26 Asian Pacific, African, European, and North American countries.
  • The EU Commission and the Senior Labour Inspectors Committee launched an EU asbestos campaign on September 1, 2006. Asbestos use had been prohibited in all EU Member States as of January 1, 2005.
  • The 8th International Conference of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group, held in Chicago on October 19 to 22, 2006, had more than 300 attendees from 26 countries.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors wrote that ADAO is gratified by the ongoing global work on asbestos issues and remains committed to working with US and international groups toward common goals. They described their 2007 campaign theme as the urgent need to prevent, detect, and treat asbestos-related diseases and trauma.

Related studies

• Asbestos is still with us: repeat call — Collegium Ramazzini (2010)
• Call for an international ban on asbestos — C. Ramazzini (1999)
• International jurisprudence on trade and environmental health: one step forward, two steps back? — K. Timmermans (2008)
• Ending asbestos poisoning: global advocacy from a survivor's view — P.S. Zygielbaum (2007)
• Collegium Ramazzini call for an international ban on asbestos — P.J. Landrigan, M. Soffritti (2005)
• Asbestos is still with us: repeat call for a universal ban — C. Ramazzini (2010)

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