ASIA: asbestos stop in Asia

Our plain-English summary of ASIA: asbestos stop in Asia, by P. Baas, S. Burgers (Respirology, 2015).

The study

• Authors: P. Baas, S. Burgers
• Journal: Respirology
• Published: 2015;20(4):521
• Type of article: Editorial, Comment
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Summary of the article

This editorial introduced a review by Leong et al. on asbestos in Asia, published in the same issue of Respirology, which the authors described as combining the medical and socio-legal aspects of asbestos handling. The authors outlined the history of asbestos use. They noted that the link between (blue) asbestos exposure and malignant pleural mesothelioma became apparent in the early 1960s, and stated that all groups of asbestos fibres (serpentines and amphiboles) carry a risk, though of different grades. Most Western countries had banned asbestos use and import, and patients with asbestos-related diseases were compensated with 20,000–200,000 euros per case. Using an estimated mesothelioma incidence of 1.3 per 100,000, the authors estimated that 200 million to 2 billion euros would probably be needed for compensation. Global asbestos production had not decreased: it measured 1.94 million tons in 2013, and the top producers were Russia, China and Kazakhstan. The authors compared present-day Asia with post-war Europe, where high unemployment and limited funds favoured cheaper products. They noted that low costs and a lack of affordable alternatives led many people in countries such as China and India to use asbestos, but that the risks are now known. They concluded that asbestos is a major health threat, that the developing world must be helped to find suitable alternatives as soon as possible, and that the issue represents a showdown between the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This one-page editorial in Respirology reports no new research data. It introduces the paper "Asbestos in Asia" by Leong and colleagues in the same issue. The authors stated that all groups of asbestos fibres carry a risk, to different degrees. They wrote that many Western countries compensate people with asbestos-related diseases, paying 20 000 to 200 000 euros per case. They estimated that compensation for malignant pleural mesothelioma alone would probably cost 200 million to 2 billion euros. The estimate used an incidence of 1.3 per 100 000 and a population printed as "731 billion", which appears to be a misprint because it does not fit that euro total. They stated that global production had not decreased (1.94 million tons in 2013). They also stated that the top producers, Russia, China and Kazakhstan, had no published plans to close their mines. They compared Asia today with the post-war West: low costs and a lack of affordable alternatives lead many to use asbestos, but its huge risks are now known. The authors concluded that the developing world must be helped to find suitable alternatives as soon as possible.

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 data)
• Who was studied: No study population. The editorial comments on asbestos use in Asia and introduces the overview by Leong et al., "Asbestos in Asia", in the same issue.
• Exposure: Asbestos in general, including serpentine and amphibole fibre groups, and all stages of the life cycle of asbestos products
• Main results:
  • The authors stated (not a study finding) that all groups of asbestos fibres carry a risk, with different grades of risk due to different physical properties.
  • The authors stated that patients with asbestos-related diseases in many Western countries have been entitled to compensation of 20 000–200 000 euros per case.
  • The authors estimated that 200 million to 2 billion euros will probably need to be spent on compensation for malignant pleural mesothelioma alone. The estimate was based on an incidence of 1.3 per 100 000 and a total population the article prints as 731 billion, which appears to be a misprint.
  • The authors stated that global asbestos production had not decreased and measured 1.94 million tons in 2013.
  • The authors named Russia, China and Kazakhstan as the top asbestos-producing countries and said these countries have no published plans to close their excavation sites.
  • The authors wrote that in Asian countries such as China and India, low costs and a lack of affordable alternatives lead many people to use asbestos.
  • The authors wrote that a significant difference between the Western world after World War II and Asia now is that the huge risks of asbestos exposure are now known.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the developing world must be helped to find suitable alternatives for asbestos as soon as possible.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Pleural Mesothelioma, Serpentine Group, Amphibole Group, Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Asbestos in Asia — S.L. Leong, R. Zainudin, et al. (2015)
• How conflicted authors undermine the World Health Organization (WHO) campaign to stop all use of asbestos: spotlight on studies showing that chrysotile is carcinogenic and facilitates other non-cancer asbestos-related diseases — X. Baur, C.L. Soskolne, et al. (2015)
• Environmental threats to children's health in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific — W.A. Suk, K.M. Ruchirawat, et al. (2003)
• Corporate influence on threshold limit values — B.I. Castleman, G.E. Ziem (1988)
• WTO confidential: the case of asbestos. World Trade Organization — B. Castleman (2002)
• Pleural mesothelioma in relation to meteorological conditions and residential distance from an industrial source of asbestos — J. Tarrés, C. Albertí, et al. (2013)

Browse more research in Respirology, or return to medical research.