The asbestos war

Our plain-English summary of The asbestos war, by L. Kazan-Allen (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2003).

The study

• Author: L. Kazan-Allen
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 2003;9(3):173-93
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 27 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

That asbestos is still being sold despite overwhelming evidence linking it to debilitating and fatal diseases is testament to the effectiveness of a campaign, spear-headed by Canadian interests, to promote a product already banned in many developed countries. Blessed by government and commercial support, asbestos apologists have implemented a long-term coordinated strategy targeting new consumers in Asia, the Far East and Latin America. At industry-backed "conferences" and on government-funded junkets, they spin a web of deceit, telling all who will listen that "chrysotile (white asbestos) can be used safely." The fact that Canada exports over 95% of all the chrysotile it mines suggests that while chrysotile is supposedly safe enough for foreigners, it is not safe enough for Canadians. Asbestos victims in many countries have struggled to gain public recognition of the human cost of asbestos use. In recent years, nongovernmental organizations working with these groups have created a global anti-asbestos virtual network; with the commitment and support of thousands of "virtual members," this network challenges industry's propaganda and exposes the forces that support its cynical attempt to offload this dangerous substance on developing countries.

In plain English

This article was not a scientific study. It was a commentary by the guest editor introducing a special journal issue on asbestos. The article describes the author as founder and coordinator of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat. The author drew on Canadian government documents obtained under access-to-information requests, papers from asbestos industry meetings held in 1971 and 2002, and press reports. The author described a campaign, led by Canadian interests, to promote chrysotile (white asbestos) as safe for controlled use, mainly in Asia, the Far East and Latin America. According to the article, the Asbestos Institute in Montreal received $54 million between 1984 and 2001 from the federal government, the Quebec government and the industry. A government briefing quoted in the article said the Institute led 16 missions to 12 countries in 1999-2000. The author reported that Canada lost its World Trade Organization challenge to France's asbestos ban. The author also described the growth of asbestos victims' groups and of an international ban-asbestos network. The author noted that the choice of groups covered depended on the information available. Parts of the scanned text were unreadable.

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: Commentary / advocacy essay by the guest editor introducing a special journal issue; not an original research study or a systematic review of scientific studies
• Who was studied: No study population. The article describes asbestos industry bodies (notably the Asbestos Institute, Montreal), the Canadian and Quebec governments, and asbestos victims' and ban-asbestos groups in many countries. It draws on Canadian government documents obtained under the Access to Information Act, industry meeting papers (1971 and 2002) and press reports.
• Exposure: Not an exposure study. The subject is the promotion and trade of chrysotile (white asbestos), especially Canadian chrysotile, and the claim that it can be used safely under controlled conditions.
• Main results:
  • The author stated that Canada exports over 95% of the chrysotile it mines.
  • The Asbestos Institute, set up in 1984 by Quebec mine owners and the Canadian and Quebec governments, received a total of $54 million between 1984 and 2001 from three equal donors: the federal government, the Quebec government and the asbestos industry.
  • A federal government briefing quoted in the article stated that during 1999-2000 the Asbestos Institute led 16 missions to 12 Latin American, African and Asian countries to give seminars on the safe use of chrysotile.
  • Canada challenged France's 1997 asbestos ban at the World Trade Organization and lost. According to the author, the Dispute Settlement Panel (September 18, 2000) and the Appellate Body (March 12, 2001) both accepted that chrysotile is an established carcinogen, that there is no safe threshold, and that controlled use is not an effective alternative to a national ban.
  • World asbestos production peaked in 1975 at 5 million tons. In 2001, 2 million tons of chrysotile were mined.
  • All 34 delegates at a 1971 industry conference in London came from Europe or North America. The author reported that the majority of delegates at a June 2002 Asbestos International Association meeting in London were suppliers and consumers from Latin America, Asia and the Far East.
  • The author described the formation of asbestos victims' and ban-asbestos groups in many countries. Campaigners from European groups first met in Strasbourg, at the European Parliament, on June 12 to 14, 1991. The International Ban Asbestos Secretariat was set up in 1999.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the continued sale of asbestos was the result of a well-resourced, coordinated campaign by global asbestos interests, spearheaded by Canadian interests, aimed at developing countries. The author also concluded that a global network of victims' groups and nongovernmental organizations was challenging that campaign.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author stated that the choice of victims' groups discussed depended solely on the information available. Detailed information on South African groups proved elusive, and information on Swiss groups was not available in English.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Chrysotile.

Related studies

• Asbestos-related morbidity in India — T.K. Joshi, R.K. Gupta (2003)
• Battling over asbestos in the third world — (1997)
• Asbestos: old foe in 21st century developing countries — L.V. Harris, I.A. Kahwa (2003)
• Scientific controversy and asbestos: making disease invisible — L. Braun, A. Greene, et al. (2003)
• Occupational and environmental exposures and cancers in developing countries — D. Hashim, P. Boffetta (2014)
• Lung Cancer Mortality Trends in a Brazilian City with a Long History of Asbestos Consumption — G.A. Fernandes, E. Algranti, et al. (2019)

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