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According to the article cited below, another landmark was achieved recently with the approval by municipal officials of a pilot ecological restoration project for derelict and contaminated industrial land in the Giant Panda National Park. The work undertaken successfully eradicated asbestos pollution on an area of 10.55 square kilometers which had formerly been home to the Sichuan asbestos mine. See: 矿山新生，“愈”见大熊猫丨四中全会精神在基层 [Rebirth of Mines, “More” Seen Giant Pandas | The Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session Takes Root at Grassroots Level].

A commentary by experts from the Center for Asbestos-Related Disease on the legacy of environmental asbestos contamination highlighted the ongoing public health risk still posed by unremediated infrastructures and land in Montana, Nevada, California and elsewhere in the US, especially in regions where naturally-occurring asbestos is found. Due to the lethal nature of asbestos-related diseases, the best way to deal with them is to prevent toxic exposures. Concluding their text, the coauthors wrote: “Physicians, public health officials, and researchers must evaluate exposed populations and individuals for AID (autoimmune diseases) and raise awareness that legacy asbestos remains a serious health risk around the world.” See: Legacy asbestos: An ongoing public health risk.

On December 4, 2025 comments made at a press conference held by the Chrysotile Association – a Russian body representing asbestos vested interests – were reported acknowledging that “Russian automakers use only asbestos-free brakes…” According to the Russian and US “experts” who addressed the meeting, this policy was ill-advised due to research which, they said, “confirmed the safety of exposure to chrysotile asbestos fibers for car repair and maintenance professionals.” Several other distortions were contained in the text, including the fact that most Russian asbestos is used in Japan; Japan phased out all asbestos use between 2006 and 2012. See: Ученые призывают вернуться к асбестовым колодкам [Scientists call for a return to asbestos pads].

In November, it was reported that 160 local people had participated in three classes on the safe handling/removal of asbestos-containing roofing products which had been carried out by personnel from Habitat for Humanity International, Vietnam in collaboration with the People's Committee of Long Quang Commune. Asbestos roofing remains a popular product in mountainous areas inhabited by ethnic minorities. See: Long Quảng: Gần 160 người được hướng dẫn thực hành an toàn khi tiếp xúc với vật liệu nghi ngờ có chứa amiăng và kỹ thuật lợp mái nhà đúng cách [Long Quang: Nearly 160 people were instructed on safe practices when in contact with suspected asbestos-containing materials and proper roofing techniques].

At the beginning of this month, a former Penang assemblyman Dr T. Jayabalan issued serious health warnings to delegates attending the “Speak Up for Penang” Forum organized by 11 civil society organizations in George Town, Penang. Dr. Jayabalan expressed his concerns over plans to mine rare earth elements (REE) and the continued use of asbestos water pipes in social housing, both of which could increase the incidence of cancer among the population. “We need,” the medical doctor concluded “to safeguard public health.” See: Former Penang rep sounds alarm over health risks from REE mining, asbestos use.

According to leading US market analysts, asbestos claims rose almost 29% in 2024 – to $1.27 billion from $986.2 million (2023) – at the same time as insurers were starting to reduce their asbestos reserves. Payment obligations also increased. Commenting on the upward trends, the analysts wrote: “The combination of rising net incurred losses and elevated payment levels in 2024 suggests that the ‘tail’ on these decades-old policies may be longer than many carriers anticipated, with implications for reserve adequacy and capital management extending well into the future.” See: Asbestos losses rising while reserves shrink.

Inaccurate information provided to a committee meeting of the Australian Senate on December 2, 2025 by senior management from the national broadcaster – the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) – was the focus of the article cited below by ABC’s rival: Sky News. According to reporter Patrick Hannaford, the statement that two ABC employees had died after experiencing asbestos exposures at the broadcaster’s premises in Victoria between 1984 and 1990 was untrue. Retracting this information, ABC’s Melanie Kleyn admitted that there had been 3 deaths after toxic exposures between the 1950s and late 1980s. See: ABC under fire after providing Parliament with incorrect information about asbestos exposure and deaths of former staff.

A Regional Labor Court in the State of Rio de Janeiro ordered Eternit and Saint-Gobain to pay compensation of R$ 200,000 (US$37,440) in moral damages to a former worker who had been occupationally exposed to asbestos over his 18-year term of employment. In addition, the companies will have to pay him a pension until he reaches the age of 73 as well as provide lifetime health insurance. The claimant has pleural plaques and reduced lung function as a result of the asbestos exposures he experienced. See [subscription site]: Eternit e Saint-Gobain são condenadas a indenizar ex-funcionário exposto a mineral cancerígeno [Eternit and Saint-Gobain ordered to compensate former employee exposed to carcinogenic mineral].

Questions are being asked at the highest levels of the federal and Washington D.C. governments about precipitous actions taken in October 2025 which allowed the unanticipated demolition of the 83-year old East Wing of the White House to make room for a mega-new ballroom. According to an EPA appointee during the Clinton and Obama administrations, Bob Sussman: “For the White House to take this out of the normal permitting process and have it handled in a very, very special way by EPA or by White House employees without any oversight, that would be problematic.” See [subscription site]: White House dodged East Wing asbestos permits.

On December 1, 2025, the paper cited below was published in the Special Issue “Mesothelioma Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Emerging Treatments and Pre-Clinical Models” by a team of 26 scientists from various Italian research centers and institutions. The co-authors concluded that Pericardial Mesothelioma (PM) was “an extremely rare and aggressive cancer, with a poor prognosis” for which no standardized diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines existed. It was recommended that an international network to collect PM cases with diagnosis and treatment data be established to improve outcomes for PM patients. See: Pericardial Mesothelioma: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Management, a Population-Based Study in Italy.

Last month, a film about asbestos contamination in Western Australia won the highly prestigious Walkey Documentary Award at the Walkley Awards ceremony in Sydney, Australia. Yurlu Country documented the fight by Banjima Elder Maitland Parker “to preserve his culture and heal his homeland in the Pilbara, scarred by the worst contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere.” The pollution was the result of asbestos mining at Wittenoom, a town now so toxic that it has been closed by the State Government. See: Yurlu | Country Wins Walkley Documentary Award.

On December 2, 2025, Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection published an update on progress made in the implementation of the Asbestos Law for 2011-2023. During that period, 17.8 million sq. meters of asbestos-cement material was removed from public spaces as well as thousands of tons of friable asbestos. Contaminated soil in western Galilee was also removed. The decontamination work was undertaken by licensed contractors using strict health and safety protocols. See: Millions of square meters of asbestos removed from public spaces.

The most recent Australian asbestos scandal shows no signs of abating, as a third Australian renewable energy company, Beijing Jingeng Energy International (Australia), confirmed “the presence of asbestos in its wind turbine lift brake pads.” These products were also imported from the Chinese company 3S Industry. The other renewable energy companies that had confirmed they had also used these illegal products were Goldwind Australia and Vestas. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the majority of lift brake pads used by wind turbine operators in Australia were supplied by 3S Industry. See: Third renewable energy company discovers asbestos in wind farm turbine lifts.

According to headteachers and union leaders, New Zealand’s Ministry of Education (MoE) was not keeping a central register of the schools which acknowledged having used asbestos-contaminated sand exported from China for sensory play and craft projects. A spokesperson for the MoE later qualified this lack of oversight by saying that it had “incomplete figures.” Stephanie Mills, the national secretary of New Zealand's largest education union, was appalled: “it is not good enough to take a voluntary approach when we are dealing with asbestos which is a banned substance, which causes long term illness to people, to which we're now exposing children and teachers and other educators.” See: Principals stunned no tally kept of schools testing positive for asbestos from coloured play sand.

The discovery of asbestos fire-proofing material on the subway tracks of Line 1 by staff working for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) – the company which operates the public transit services in Canada’s biggest city – led to the overnight closure of the line for decontamination work at the end of last month. After air quality tests were conducted, the line was reopened the following morning. Line 1 is Toronto’s busiest subway line and is used by hundreds of thousands of passengers every day. See: Asbestos discovery prompted temporary shutdown on stretch of Line 1, TTC says.

According to an announcement by the Flanders Region of Belgium at the end of last month, the sum of €3.2 billion (US$3.7bn) was allocated for work under a new construction and remediation program to modernize, decontaminate and build new schools. According to Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir: “Asbestos has no place in an environment where children play and learn every day. That is why we will reimburse 100% of costs incurred for the removal asbestos. Not 60%, not 70%, but in full.” See: Flemish Government to invest 3.2 billion euro in the construction and renovation of school buildings.

An October 30, 2025 verdict handed down by India’s National Green Tribunal (NGT), the country’s designated court for environmental matters, contained significant findings regarding the continued use of asbestos in the country’s schools. The Court confirmed that: the deterioration of asbestos-containing building material posed a serious human health hazard; there is no safe limit of exposure to asbestos; claims by manufacturers that asbestos fibers were “firmly locked” into roofing sheets were incorrect. The Government was given six months to respond to these findings. It is noteworthy that India, the world’s largest asbestos-importing country, used an average of 438,000 tonnes of asbestos a year between 2021 and 2023. [Read full article]

As Australians were struggling with multiple asbestos scandals, issuing product recalls and demanding better enforcement by federal agencies in recent weeks, in Washington, D.C. the authorities seemed to be adopting a surprisingly laissez-faire position. In October, part of the White House was precipitously demolished to make way for a new ballroom; this was followed in November with an announcement that plans to impose stricter testing protocols for asbestos fibers in talc products had been withdrawn. US politicians and campaigners were shocked by the seeming deviation from best practice whilst a Russian commentator found much to his liking in the moves being taken by the Trump administration which he alleged was trying “to end the witch hunt” related to asbestos. [Read full article]

Groups representing asbestos victims, trade unionists, medical personnel and concerned citizens from Europe, Asia and Australia released a press release on December 9, 2025 congratulating the Brazilian Association of the Asbestos-Exposed (ABREA) on its 30th anniversary. Commenting on this auspicious event, Sugio Furuya of the Asian Ban Asbestos Network (ABAN) noted that: “ABREA stands as a symbol throughout Asia of solidarity and fellowship. Its sustained efforts to ban asbestos exports to Asia has saved and will save many lives as we work towards an asbestos-free future for all!” Acknowledging our collective debt to ABREA, IBAS Coordinator Laurie Kazan-Allen added: “ABREA gave a face to a worldwide human disaster” (Clique aqui para ler a versão em português). [Read full article]

For decades, the human costs of the asbestos industry’s profits were paid for by workers, family members, local people and communities that had been exposed to carcinogenic fibers liberated by mining, transporting and manufacturing processes. The failure of international agencies to take timely action on the asbestos hazard was due, in some part, to their woeful underestimation of global asbestos mortality. Finally, in 2017 a paper was published which suggested that cumulative annual global asbestos mortality far exceeded previous estimates and could surpass 300,000. The lead author of the 2017 paper was Professor Jukka Takala; details of a presentation he gave last month are recounted in this article including his insightful statement: “Cancer is a disease – Occupational cancer is an administrative decision.” [Read full article]

In the last fortnight a huge furore has been building over news that asbestos contamination had been found in children’s play sand exported from China to Australia and New Zealand. Shortly after the news about the deadly sand broke in Australia, it was reported that asbestos had been found in lift brake pads used across the country by the Chinese-owned energy company Goldwind Australia. In recent years, asbestos alerts for contaminated Chinese exports were issued in multiple countries. Scientific experts have called on the Chinese Government to prohibit the use of all asbestos-containing material. Should the authorities choose to heed their advice it would not only save countless lives at home but would reassure potential importers that products made in China need not carry cancer warning labels. [Read full article]

In less than a week, news that asbestos had been found in colored sand products being used by pre-school and primary school children in Australia reverberated around the world. This was Australia’s second public health asbestos crisis in two years and the media coverage this time round was even more incendiary than it had been in 2024. On November 12, 2025 authorities in Australia and New Zealand confirmed that precautionary measures would be taken following the announcement by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission that several sand-based products “may contain tremolite asbestos.” A preliminary UK investigation found that one of the products recalled in Australia, currently listed as “unavailable,” had been sold on Amazon UK. [Read full article]

For decades The Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI), a Global Union Federation representing 12 million workers in 117 countries, has been at the forefront of the global campaign to protect workers from toxic asbestos exposures. On November 10, 2025, it issued a position paper recommitting itself to the ban of all asbestos-containing materials. In the new document, the BWI called on the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a member of the World Bank Group and “the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets” – to “prohibit all investments in asbestos, removing its exemption for bonded asbestos materials.”(The following link is to a permitted copy of the BWI paper.) [Read full article]

The furore that had been building since mid-October over controversial plans by President Trump to demolish part of the White House to build a mega-ballroom exploded last weekend with almost universal negative media coverage. It was not only the speed of the demolition of the East Wing but also the lack of transparency over planning, safety protocols and private donors that were driving public outrage with more than half the Americans polled disapproving of the project. Many critics of Trump’s latest “vanity project” expressed concern about the apparent lack of health and safety protocols to deal with asbestos material which was almost certainly present in the structure. [Read full article]

In the run-up to November meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) in South Korea, grassroots activists held “The Ban Asbestos from the Asia-Pacific Region” protest in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul on October 21, 2025. The event was organized by the Asian Citizens' Center for Environmental Health (Eco-Health) and supported by a variety of groups active on environmental and health issues. Commenting on the demonstration, Director of Eco-Health Choi Ye-yong said: “The continued use of asbestos in Asia is contrary not just to APEC’s core objectives but also to the human rights of every individual…. It is time for APEC and other regional bodies to do the right thing and mandate a regional ban on the use of asbestos.” [Read full article]

The news that the first UK toxic talc litigation by cancer sufferers was in the pipeline had been circulating for a couple of years. On October 16, 2025 this was confirmed when a class action began at the High Court in London on behalf of 3,000 plaintiffs who believed their diseases were caused by the use of asbestos-contaminated baby powder produced by the American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J). Although news of the class action was reported in North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, the country with the most intense interest in the case seemed to be Russia, the world’s largest asbestos producer. Interested? Read on. [Read full article]

While much has been written about the deadly health consequences of the commercial exploitation of asbestos, the environmental damage done by asbestos polluters has, to some extent, remained unexplored. The mountains of carcinogenic waste and toxic debris left behind by asbestos profiteers continues to endanger the health of local people long after mining and manufacturing operations ceased. Photographs and text in this article describe multiple examples of the deadly contamination left by asbestos producers and manufacturers in North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. [Read full article]

The article which can be accessed at the link provided was written by Julian Branch, an outspoken critic of Canada’s failure to deal with the deadly legacy posed by the continued use of deteriorating asbestos-containing pipes to deliver water. The head-in-the-sand approach adopted by the authorities and public utility companies to the threat posed by ingested asbestos in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon and British Columbia seems to be validated by the lack of action taken by Health & Welfare Canada – now Health Canada (HC) – and the federal government. Branch detailed decades of missed opportunities and concluded with, considering the neglect shown to date, a possibly over-optimistic hope that a current reassessment of the situation by HC might bring improvements. [Read full article]

Recent developments in East and Southeast Asia have highlighted the continued importance of bilateral and multinational collaborations in the struggle to address national asbestos legacies. The exchange of information and the sharing of expertise remain essential tools in neutralizing the efforts of industry lobbyists who continue to actively promote the interests of asbestos stakeholders at national, regional and international forums. In the post-Covid era, there has been a resurgence of multinational collaborations as illustrated by developments in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Seoul, Korea; and Jakarta, Indonesia which are discussed in this article. [Read full article]

In her review of “Bad Dust, A History of the Asbestos Disaster,” published this month by Repeater Books, Laurie Kazan-Allen explained that the genesis for this work had been the mesothelioma death of Albert Popple, the granddad of author Tom White. As many other talented people before him had done, White harnessed his grief “to create a work of art that spoke not only of personal traumas but universal truths.” “Bad Dust is,” the reviewer explained “a well-written book which ponders important subjects.” This text will be of interest to people interested in the history of the asbestos tragedy as well as many more readers trying to grapple with wider 21st century issues such as the unending struggle for a sustainable future, corporate accountability and environmental justice. [Read full article]

In recent weeks, international groups have submitted key evidence to the Central Jakarta District Court which is hearing a case brought by asbestos vested interests, represented by the FICMA trade association, against individuals and groups that petitioned the Supreme Court for its endorsement of measures imposing mandatory warning labels on asbestos-cement roofing products. After the Supreme Court upheld this petition (2024), FICMA launched a ferocious legal attack on the petitioners claiming massive financial damages. This letter deconstructs one of FICMA’s principle arguments, namely that failure by the UN to list chrysotile (white) asbestos as a hazardous material supported industry propaganda that exposure to asbestos was “harmless.” [Read full article]

The high-profile participation of ministers and institutions from the Cambodian Government in recent activities in Phnom Penh designed to raise asbestos awareness and implement a transition to asbestos-free technology reconfirmed the Government’s commitment to ending asbestos use and building medical capacity to diagnose and treat citizens injured by toxic exposures. Opening the three-day conference: Improving Diagnosis and Response to Occupational Cancers: Asbestos and Dust Related Diseases Cambodian Health Minister His Excellency Professor Chheang Ra called for the country to prioritize inter-ministerial collaboration to establish frameworks restricting toxic imports and phase-out asbestos consumption. [Read full article]

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Demonstration in Woluwe Park, Brussels, 2006

Under cloudy skies, members of Belgian and French Asbestos Victims' Associations from Dunkirk and Bourgogne marched side-by-side in the third annual demonstration organized by ABEVA, the Belgian Association of Asbestos Victims. Erik Jonckheere, ABEVA's Co-chairman, condemned the government which still refuses to recognize the plight of the asbestos injured.

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