The South African asbestos trade, 1994-1999

Our plain-English summary of The South African asbestos trade, 1994-1999, by J.S. Harington, N.D. McGlashan (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2000).

The study

• Authors: J.S. Harington, N.D. McGlashan
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 2000;37(2):229
• Type of article: Letter
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This is a short letter to the editor, not a research study. The authors updated their earlier account of South Africa's asbestos trade from 1959 to 1993 to cover the years after 1993. Their sources were South African government mineral-industry reports and a personal communication from the Griqualand Exploration & Finance Co. The number of men employed in the South African asbestos industry fell as mines closed: 2230 in 1994, 2182 in 1995, 1613 in 1996 and 1003 in 1997. Amosite exports had stopped entirely by the end of 1993. Crocidolite production fell from 15,387 tons in 1994 to 9819 in 1995 and 8547 in 1996. Underground crocidolite production stopped in 1995 and milling in 1996. All crocidolite mining ceased in early 1997, after only about 886 tons that year, and the last exports, in 1998, came from stockpiles. Chrysotile production dropped by 37% by 1996, and underground work at the largest mine was predicted to stop by the turn of the century. The authors wrote that all trade in crocidolite had come to a halt.

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: Letter to the editor updating the authors' earlier description of South African asbestos production and trade, using government mineral-industry reports and a company's personal communication; not a health study
• Who was studied: The South African asbestos industry (mines, workforce, production and exports), mainly 1994 to 1998
• Exposure: Production and trade of South African crocidolite, amosite and chrysotile; no health outcomes or exposures were measured
• Main results:
  • Men employed in the South African asbestos industry: 2230 in 1994, 2182 in 1995, 1613 in 1996 and 1003 in 1997
  • By the end of 1993, amosite exports had ceased entirely, and crocidolite exports had dropped to 5% of their late-1970s peak
  • Chrysotile (printed as 'chrysolite') trade held firm up to 1993. By 1996 production had dropped by 37%, and all underground operations at the largest mine, which produced over 97% of the fiber, were predicted to stop by the turn of the century
  • Crocidolite production: 15,387 tons in 1994, 9819 in 1995 and 8547 in 1996
  • Crocidolite underground production stopped permanently in 1995 and crocidolite milling in 1996
  • All crocidolite mining ceased in early 1997, after about 886 tons had been produced that year; the last crocidolite exports, in 1998, came from dwindling stockpiles
  • As background, the letter reported that in 1997 France made imports of asbestos or its products illegal, and that the United Kingdom and Belgium proposed legislation to prohibit asbestos use
• The authors' conclusion: The authors wrote that all trade in South African crocidolite had come to a halt, almost 40 years after the association between malignant mesothelioma and crocidolite exposure in South Africa was first established.

Related studies

• South African asbestos: production, exports, and destinations, 1959-1993 — J.S. Harington, N.D. McGlashan (1998)
• South Africa's export trade in asbestos: demise of an industry — J.S. Harington, N.D. McGlashan, et al. (2010)
• Re: Call for an International Ban on Asbestos: Why not ban asbestos? — J.C. McDonald (2000)
• Re: Call for an International Ban on Asbestos — C. Maltoni (2000)
• Re: Call for an International Ban on Asbestos: Trust me, I'm a doctor — M. Greenberg (2000)
• Re: Call for an International Ban on Asbestos: Why not ban asbestos? — B. Castleman (2000)

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