National use of asbestos in relation to economic development

Our plain-English summary of National use of asbestos in relation to economic development, by G.V. Le, K. Takahashi, A. Karjalainen, et al (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2010).

The study

• Authors: G.V. Le, K. Takahashi, A. Karjalainen, V. Delgermaa, T. Hoshuyama, Y. Miyamura, S. Furuya, T. Higashi, G. Pan, G. Wagner
• Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives
• Published: 2010;118(1):116-9
• Cited by: 22 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Background: National disparities in asbestos use will likely lead to an unequal burden of asbestos diseases.

Objectives: As economic status may be linked to asbestos use, we assessed, globally, the relationship between indicators of national economic development and asbestos use.

Methods: For the 135 countries that have ever used asbestos, per capita asbestos use (kilograms per capita per year) was compared with per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in 1990 Geary-Khamis dollars (GKD) for the period 1920-2003. Countries were grouped into three income levels (high, middle, and low) that were adapted from the 2003 World Bank categories.

Results: The historical pattern of asbestos use followed the environmental Kuznets curve in which use by high-income countries peaked when incomes attained 10,000-15,000 GKD and essentially ceased at income levels over 20,000 GKD. Currently, middle- and low-income countries are increasing their use of asbestos, closely following the paths once traced by higher income countries.

Conclusions: Developing countries have the opportunity to eliminate asbestos use sooner than high-income countries and thus reduce the future burden of asbestos diseases.

In plain English

This study compared national asbestos use with economic development, measured as gross domestic product per person. The authors used U.S. Geological Survey consumption data (production plus imports minus exports), with income in 1990 Geary–Khamis dollars (GKD). They analyzed 135 countries from 1920 to 2003: 28 high-, 63 middle- and 40 low-income (2003 World Bank categories) and four unclassified, including the former USSR. These countries used 181 million tons in total, 48% of it by the high-income group. In high-income countries, use per person rose, peaked at roughly 10,000–15,000 GKD and flattened to near zero above 20,000 GKD. The middle- and low-income groups showed upward trends. In 2003 their population-weighted averages were 0.62 and 0.16 kg per person per year, against 0.09 for high-income countries. By February 2009, 21 of 28 high-income countries had banned asbestos, against 19 of 63 middle-income and none of 40 low-income countries. The authors concluded that developing countries have an opportunity to reduce and eliminate use earlier and so reduce future disease burden. They noted that population weighting makes group trends mostly reflect populous countries such as China and India.

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: Global ecological analysis of national asbestos consumption statistics compared with national economic development over time
• Who was studied: 135 countries with data on both asbestos use and per capita GDP, 1920–2003. They were grouped by 2003 World Bank income level as high (28), middle (63) and low (40), plus 4 unclassified countries/entities (former USSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Taiwan)
• Exposure: National asbestos consumption in raw or fiber form (all types together, no breakdown by fiber), in kilograms per person per year, from U.S. Geological Survey data; consumption defined as production plus import minus export
• Main results:
  • The 135 countries used 181 million tons of asbestos in total from 1920 to 2003: 48% by the high-income group, 22% by the middle-income group, 4% by the low-income group and 26% by the unclassified group
  • Average use over 1920–2003 was 0.79 kg per person per year for all countries. By group it was 1.58 (high-income), 0.40 (middle-income), 0.11 (low-income) and 4.14 (unclassified)
  • The former USSR alone used 42.8 million tons (24% of the world total), at 4.95 kg per person per year
  • In high-income countries, use peaked at approximately 10,000–15,000 GKD, in different years between 1950 and 1995, and collectively flattened to near zero above 20,000 GKD
  • Middle- and low-income groups showed upward trends, steeper in the low-income group. They surpassed the high-income group in 1990–1995 and 1999 respectively, and reached 0.62 (middle), 0.16 (low) and 0.09 (high) kg per person per year in 2003
  • Lower-income countries were less likely to have ratified the ILO Asbestos Convention, to report pleural cancer or mesothelioma deaths to the WHO, or to have banned asbestos. Bans as of February 2009: 21 of 28 high-income (75.0%), 19 of 63 middle-income (30.2%) and 0 of 40 low-income countries
  • In 2003, China consumed 492,000 tons and India 192,000 tons of asbestos
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that each developing country has an opportunity to choose earlier reduction and elimination of asbestos use, and thus a reduction in future disease burden
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Because group means were weighted by population size, group patterns mostly reflect trends in populous countries such as China and India
  • Income per capita measured in GKD reflects only one aspect of economic development
  • The U.S. Geological Survey cautions that consumption in countries using less than 5,000 tons a year was too erratic to show trends

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