Australian Group Leads Push for Global Ban of Asbestos

The Asbestos Diseases Research Institute (ADRI) in Australia has intensified its campaign for a worldwide ban on the use of asbestos. ADRI is producing a special issue for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that includes the first scientific collaboration of so many global leaders aimed at banning asbestos. “This is a big step, something that’s never been done before, the research examining the societal transition required for countries to phase out asbestos,” Dr. Ken Takahashi, ADRI director, told Asbestos.com. “It’s not going to be an easy task, but we’re moving in that direction.” The special issue, “Global Panorama of National Experiences in Public Health Actions to Ban Asbestos,” is aimed particularly at developing countries that need a roadmap to instituting a ban. There are 61 countries in the world that have banned asbestos, according to International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), but Japan is the only one of the 10 most populous countries to do it. That leaves almost 140 countries and more than six billion people, according to Takahashi, still vulnerable to continued use of asbestos. Brazil, for example, is the fifth most populous country in the world with more than 207 million people. It is still producing an estimated 300,000 tons of asbestos annually — most of it for exportation. China, with a world-leading 1.4 billion people, produces 400,000 tons of asbestos each year. Documenting the Roadmap to an Asbest...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: asbestos ban Asbestos Diseases Research Institute Global Panorama of National Experiences in Public Health Actions to Ban Asbestos International Ban Asbestos Secretariat International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Ken Takah Source Type: news