Asbestos Ban in Sweden Leads to Drop in Mesothelioma

The strict ban on asbestos more than 30 years ago in Sweden has produced a tangible decline in mesothelioma throughout the country. It has also helped fuel the growing debate about establishing a similar asbestos ban in the U.S. and Canada. "There is no good argument to use asbestos, anymore," senior professor Bengt Jarvholm, of the department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umea University in Sweden, told Asbestos.com. "Especially [using it] in an industrialized country." No Argument for Not Banning Asbestos in US Jarvholm has spent much of his career studying the impact of asbestos exposure in Sweden's construction industry. He co-authored a recent article in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health that detailed the emerging evidence about the decline in mesothelioma incidence since the ban. "Yes, I'm surprised [the U.S. hasn't banned asbestos]," he said. "There are other, less dangerous substances to use. There is no real argument, apart from pure economic ones, to keep using it." Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer with no cure. It is diagnosed in an estimated 3,000 Americans annually. It can also lead to a host of other serious respiratory issues, including asbestosis and lung cancer. Experts estimate asbestos is responsible for 10,000 deaths annually in the U.S. Although the use of asbestos in the U.S. has dropped significantly from its peak in the 1970s, it remains legal to use in a variety of industries. The...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Legislation, Laws & Litigation Source Type: news