The global reorganization and revitalization of the asbestos industry, 1970-2007

Our plain-English summary of The global reorganization and revitalization of the asbestos industry, 1970-2007, by J. Rice (International Journal of Health Services, 2011).

The study

• Author: J. Rice
• Journal: International Journal of Health Services
• Published: 2011;41(2):239-54
• Cited by: 6 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The intent of this essay is to highlight the global reorganization of the asbestos industry over the period 1970-2007. Descriptive analysis illustrates that asbestos consumption in the industrialized countries declined precipitously over this period, in juxtaposition to a notable increase in consumption in the developing countries. In 2007, asbestos consumption in the developing countries was more than two million metric tons but negligible elsewhere in the world economy. The author argues that as asbestos increasingly became the focus of government oversight in the industrialized countries, continued capital accumulation efforts necessitated displacement of risk to the developing countries. The global revitalization of asbestos production and consumption over the period 1970-2007 presents numerous challenges in terms of occupational and environmental health hazards in the developing countries. It has the potential, moreover, to prefigure a significant expansion of asbestos-related disease into the 21st century, absent a global ban on asbestos use.

In plain English

This article is an essay, not a medical or epidemiological study, and it collected no health data. The author described how asbestos use shifted around the world between 1970 and 2007. The analysis used national "apparent consumption" figures (production plus imports minus exports) from the U.S. Geological Survey for 126 countries: 27 high-income ("industrialized") and 99 low- and middle-income ("developing"). In 1970 the industrialized countries consumed more than 2 million metric tons. Their use declined gradually until 1980 and then dropped sharply. Consumption in developing countries more than doubled in the 15 years after 1970, and world consumption was well over 4 million metric tons by the mid-1980s. Developing-country use fell from 1985 to 1995 and appeared to stabilize from 2000. World consumption in 2007 was roughly comparable to 1960. The author argued that, as rich countries regulated asbestos, the industry transferred the risk to poorer countries, where "controlled use" of chrysotile was untenable. The author warned this could expand asbestos-related disease without a global ban. The author noted that gaps in the data probably understate developing-country use before 1990.

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: Essay (policy and political-economy analysis) with a descriptive analysis of national asbestos consumption data; no health outcomes were studied
• Who was studied: 126 countries, 27 classed as industrialized (high-income) and 99 as developing (low-, lower-middle- and upper-middle-income), using World Bank 2005 income categories, over 1970 to 2007
• Exposure: National asbestos 'apparent consumption' (production plus imports minus exports). Data for 1970 to 2003 were compiled from Virta (U.S. Geological Survey) and data for 2007 came from the U.S. Geological Survey. The article states that virtually all asbestos produced and consumed today is chrysotile.
• Main results:
  • Industrialized countries consumed more than 2 million metric tons in 1970, about the same as developing-country consumption in 2007
  • In industrialized countries, use declined gradually until 1980 and then dropped sharply
  • In developing countries, consumption more than doubled over the 15 years after 1970
  • Total world consumption was well over 4 million metric tons by the mid-1980s
  • Developing-country consumption declined from 1985 to 1995, then appeared to stabilize from 2000 onward
  • Total world consumption in 2007 was roughly comparable to the 1960 level
  • In 2007 Canada was the only industrialized country mining asbestos in substantial quantity
• The authors' conclusion: The author argued that the shift of asbestos use to developing countries reflected the displacement of risk as regulation tightened in industrialized countries. The author held that the 'controlled use' argument for chrysotile in developing countries is untenable. The author warned that this shift could lead to a significant expansion of asbestos-related disease in the 21st century absent a global ban.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Data were not available for every developing country in every year, and the developing-country trend probably underestimates consumption over 1970 to 1990
  • Apparent consumption figures do not account for changes in government or industry stockpiles

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