Asbestos Investigation

The BBC’s International News Service, in partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ), has recently released an investigative news report on the state of the global asbestos trade.

Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of malignant mesothelioma cancer. Following repeated exposure to the toxic mineral, symptoms can take as long as 20 to 50 years to arise and a patient’s life expectancy is often very poor since there is no cure for this cancer. Combining aggressive therapies has the potential to extend mesothelioma life expectancy by several months or more, but not all patients qualify for this treatment approach.

The BBC and ICIJ report features the story of Janice Tomkins, a mesothelioma patient in the Quebec Province, Canada. Tomkins represents a growing population across the globe as the rate of asbestos-related disease continues to rise. Since it usually takes decades to develop an asbestos-related disease, the projected incidence rate has been predicted to peak near 2020 considering the use of asbestos declined greatly after the 1970s.

Although more than 50 countries have banned or restricted asbestos, the white form of asbestos is still widely used in Brazil, China, India and Russia, and throughout many developing countries. Although it is not widely used in Canada, white asbestos (known as chrysotile) is heavily mined and exported to various countries. Russia is home to one of the largest asbestos mining operations in the world, producing nearly 1 million tons of asbestos per year. Russia produces almost half the world’s supply of asbestos and one mine near the city of Asbest is close to half the size of Manhattan.

The United States has yet to ban asbestos, but the toxic mineral is regulated and as long as a product has less than 1 percent asbestos it is considered in the United States to be free of asbestos. However, most U.S. residents are under the impression that asbestos was banned in the late-1980s. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attempted to enact a ban in 1989, but the ban was thrown out by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991.

According to BBC’s report, “The WHO says 125 million people encounter white asbestos in the workplace, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 100,000 workers die each year from all asbestos-related diseases.”

Additional information on mesothelioma may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.