A Repeat Call for the Banning of Asbestos

In 1999, the Collegium Ramazzini—an independent academic society founded to advance the study of occupational and environmental health concerns—issued a call for an international ban on the mining, manu facture, and use of asbestos (Collegium Ramazzini 1999). In the Commentary by LaDou et al. (2010) in this issue, the Collegium repeats its call for a universal ban. In our opinion, the reasons for a ban on asbestos are no less compelling now than they were 11 years go. LaDou et al. (2010) acknowledge that asbestos has many useful properties, including a high tensile strength, the ability to be woven, and resistance to heat and most chemicals. Over the years, asbestos fibers have been used in a wide range of manufactured goods such as shingles, tiles, paper products, and textiles. Asbestos has also been widely used for thermal insulation in housing and in workplace and occupational settings. Asbestos is still used today in the manufacture of products such as asbestos-cement sheets and pipes. LaDou et al. (2010) also note that the widespread use of asbestos products has been associated with a number of adverse health effects. More than 20 years ago asbestos was declared a proven human carcino gen by the U. There is scientific consensus that exposure to asbestos causes asbestosis (a progressive fibrotic lung disease), malignant mesothelioma, and other cancers. Furthermore, there is scien tific support for the position that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos (Hillerdal 1999; Welch 2007). W o r l d H e a l t h A s s e m b l y Resolution 58.22 on cancer prevention and control (World Health Assembly 2005) urged Member States to " … pay special attention to cancers for which avoidable exposure is a factor, particularly exposure to chemicals … in the workplace and the environment …. " In that context, the World Health Organization (WHO 2006) noted that asbestos is one of the most important occupational carcinogens and that exposure to asbestos causes approximately half of the deaths from occupational cancer. The Thirteenth Session of the joint International Labour Organization (ILO)/WHO Committee on Occupational Health (ILO/WHO 2003) recommended that special attention should be paid to asbestos-related diseases. Because of the known toxicity of asbestos, it has been banned in > 50 countries (International Ban Asbestos Secretariat 2010), and safer products have been developed to replace those containing asbestos. However, repeated efforts to …