The global spread of asbestos

Our plain-English summary of The global spread of asbestos, by A.L. Frank, T.K. Joshi (Annals of Global Health, 2014).

The study

• Authors: A.L. Frank, T.K. Joshi
• Journal: Annals of Global Health
• Published: 2014;80(4):257-62
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 138 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Background: Asbestos continues to be used in large quantities around the world and to be an important commodity in global trade.

Objective: To assess and quantify current global patterns of asbestos production, export and use; to examine global patterns of asbestos-related disease; and to examine barriers to an asbestos ban.

Method: Review of the biomedical literature describing patterns of asbestos exposure and disease; review of documents from national governments, UN agencies, and NGOs on asbestos production and use.

Findings: Despite widespread knowledge of the hazards of asbestos and bans on any use of asbestos in more than 50 countries, an estimated 2 million tons of asbestos continue to be used around the world each year. Although this amount is significantly less than peak annual consumption of nearly 5 million tons two decades ago, significant amounts of asbestos are still used in India, China, Russia, and some developing countries. This use of asbestos is responsible for disease today and will cause still more asbestos-related disease in the years ahead. Real and artificially manufactured controversies regarding asbestos such as arguments about the relative hazards of different asbestos fiber types and fiber sizes have impeded bans on asbestos.

Conclusions: All forms of asbestos pose grave dangers to human health. All are proven human carcinogens. There is no continued justification for the use of asbestos. Its production and use should be banned worldwide.

Copyright © 2014 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In plain English

This article is a review, not a new study. The authors reviewed the biomedical literature on asbestos exposure and disease, along with documents from national governments, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations on asbestos production and use. They reported that more than 50 countries ban any use of asbestos, yet an estimated 2 million tons are still used worldwide each year. That is less than the peak of nearly 5 million tons a year two decades earlier. Significant amounts were still used in India, China, Russia and some developing countries. The authors wrote that chrysotile accounts for some 90% to 95% of asbestos used worldwide. They reported that United States use peaked at some 775,000 tons in 1972. They described poor tracking of mesothelioma in some countries; for example, India has no official recognition of the disease. They argued that real and artificially manufactured controversies over fiber types and fiber sizes have held back bans. The authors concluded that all forms of asbestos pose grave dangers to human health, are proven human carcinogens, and should be banned worldwide.

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: Narrative review of the biomedical literature and of documents from national governments, UN agencies and NGOs
• Who was studied: No study population; the review covered global patterns of asbestos production, export and use, and of asbestos-related disease
• Exposure: Asbestos in general: the six minerals crocidolite, amosite, tremolite, actinolite, anthophyllite and chrysotile, with chrysotile making up most asbestos used worldwide
• Main results:
  • Worldwide, an estimated 2 million tons of asbestos are still used each year, even though more than 50 countries ban any use of asbestos
  • Current worldwide use is less than the peak annual consumption of nearly 5 million tons two decades earlier
  • In the United States, asbestos use peaked at some 775,000 tons in 1972
  • India produces little or no asbestos but has become a major importer
  • Tracking of asbestos disease is hampered in some countries; India has no official recognition of mesothelioma
  • The authors stated that controversies over the relative hazards of different fiber types and fiber sizes have impeded bans
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that all forms of asbestos pose grave dangers to human health, all are proven human carcinogens, there is no continued justification for their use, and production and use should be banned worldwide

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• The case for a global ban on asbestos — J. LaDou, B. Castleman, et al. (2010)
• Asbestos is still with us: repeat call for a universal ban — C. Ramazzini (2010)
• The global burden of cancers attributable to occupational factors, 1990-2021 — B. Zou, P. Wu, et al. (2025)
• Global mesothelioma deaths reported to the World Health Organization between 1994 and 2008 — V. Delgermaa, K. Takahashi, et al. (2011)
• Malignant mesothelioma: global incidence and relationship with asbestos — C. Bianchi, T. Bianchi (2007)
• Global Asbestos Disaster — S. Furuya, O. Chimed-Ochir, et al. (2018)

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