Globally asbestos-free automobiles

Our plain-English summary of Globally asbestos-free automobiles, by B. Castleman (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 1998).

The study

• Author: B. Castleman
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 1998;4(4):277-8
• Type of article: Editorial, Review
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This was an editorial by Barry Castleman, an environmental consultant, published in 1998. It was not a research study and reported no health data. The author argued that global car makers should stop using asbestos in every market. The author wrote that many European countries already required non-asbestos materials in new cars and replacement parts. Elsewhere, new vehicles were still sold with asbestos-containing friction products and engine gaskets. According to the author, General Motors used asbestos gaskets in new engines in Brazil, although it had used safer substitutes in vehicles sold in North America since around 1993. A Brazilian government inspection at the end of July 1998 found asbestos-containing gaskets still in use, and GM was fined. In the United States, the author wrote, asbestos brakes were still made and used on some new cars, contrary to assurances leading firms gave the EPA in 1992. Inquiries sent to GM, Ford and Chrysler in May 1998 brought no disclosure from Ford or GM about their global asbestos use. The author noted being an expert witness in lawsuits against these companies.

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 reporting the author's inquiries and published reports); not a research study
• Who was studied: Global automobile makers and parts producers, chiefly General Motors in Brazil and GM, Ford and Chrysler, which the author contacted in May 1998
• Exposure: Asbestos in automobile friction products (brakes) and engine gaskets; no fiber type is named
• Main results:
  • The author reported that GM installed asbestos gaskets in new engines in Brazil, although it had used safer substitutes for vehicles sold in North America since around 1993
  • A Brazilian government inspection of GM at the end of July 1998 found asbestos-containing gaskets still in use in some models
  • GM was fined in Brazil for misleading the government about its asbestos use, impeding union participation, and failing to provide use instructions on asbestos-containing parts packages
  • In the United States, asbestos-containing brakes were still made and used on some new cars, contrary to assurances leading firms made to the EPA in 1992
  • The author stated that the U.S. market for asbestos in brake shoes, brake linings and other friction products was about 6,000 tons per year, down 90% from its peak
  • Ford and GM disclosed nothing about their global use of asbestos products in response to the author's inquiries. The author reported that this was explained by the author's listing as an expert witness in lawsuits brought against these companies by brake mechanics with asbestos disease
  • Many European countries, led by the Nordic countries, had required non-asbestos materials in new cars and replacement parts
  • A Dana Corporation subsidiary announced that the industry in Brazil would stop making asbestos-containing automotive engine gaskets by the end of 1998
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that government efforts to protect industrial workers and vehicle mechanics would be greatly helped if global auto corporations went asbestos-free worldwide

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Auto mechanics and brake work.

Related studies

• Globally asbestos-free automobiles — J. Rangé (1999)
• A study of airborne chrysotile concentrations associated with handling, unpacking, and repacking boxes of automobile clutch discs — G.C. Jiang, A.K. Madl, et al. (2008)
• Chrysotile asbestos exposure associated with removal of automobile exhaust systems (ca. 1945-1975) by mechanics: results of a simulation study — D.J. Paustenbach, A.K. Madl, et al. (2006)
• The contribution of environmental monitoring in the epidemiological assessment of exogenous risk. The experience of ARPA in the Emilia-Romagna Region of Italy — A. Zavatti, P. Lauriola (1999)
• Assessment of airborne asbestos exposure during the servicing and handling of automobile asbestos-containing gaskets — C.L. Blake, G.S. Dotson, et al. (2006)
• Exposure to chrysotile asbestos associated with unpacking and repacking boxes of automobile brake pads and shoes — A.K. Madl, L.L. Scott, et al. (2008)

Browse more research in International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, or return to medical research.