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On June 24, 2025, the Constitutional Court of Slovenia handed down a ruling upholding the right of relatives to bring a legal action for the asbestos death of a family member. Central to the case was an argument about equality before the law; denying these plaintiffs the right to bring an “inherited” action for damages deprived them of a right enjoyed by the heirs of beneficiaries who had initiated compensation proceedings prior to death. The Court agreed that it was, indeed, the duty of the legislature to treat both groups of heirs in an equal manner. See: Ustavno sodišče: Neupravičenost dedičev do odškodnine zaradi izpostavljenosti azbestu je neustavna [Constitutional Court: Heirs' ineligibility for compensation for exposure to asbestos is unconstitutional].

A train loaded with almost 1,000 tons of Chinese chrysotile (white) asbestos destined for Uzbekistan departed from the city of Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China last week. According to a news release, this was “the first special train with asbestos from Gansu Province to Central Asia…” Between 2021 and 2023, Uzbekistan used, on average, around 110,000 tonnes of asbestos every year, most of which came from Russia, the world’s largest producer of asbestos. See: Из пров. Ганьсу отправился первый спецпоезд с асбестом в Центральную Азию [The first special train with asbestos went to Central Asia from Gansu].

On June 26, 2025, US Attorney David Metcalf announced that criminal charges had been lodged against the Philadelphia School District over alleged violations of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. According to the charges, city officials had failed to “inspect, remediate, and report damaged asbestos in multiple city schools” in a timely fashion. As a result of their inaction, students and staff experienced toxic exposures in the school buildings. This is the first time that a school district has been criminally charged with violating the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. See: Press Release. United States Attorney Announces Criminal Charges Against the Philadelphia School District Alleging Violations of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response ActM.

On June 25, 2025, the Valeggio Regional Technical Committee for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) blocked plans by the company Progeco Ambiente Spa for the construction of a local asbestos landfill site, after receiving hundreds of objections from local authorities, environmental associations, citizens’ committees and residents in recent months. See: Amianto a Valeggio: primo stop, ma la partita è ancora aperta [Asbestos in Valeggio: first stop, but the game is still open].

On June 6, 2025 asbestos widow Kazuko Furukawa (77) returned to the gas station in Amagasaki City which was the starting point for her research into the existence of an undiagnosed epidemic of asbestos-related diseases caused by operations at the former Kanzaki factory, part of the Kubota group. In 2004, Mrs. Furukawa formed the Mesothelioma and Asbestos Disease Patients and Families Association to formalize the support being offered to the injured. See: 聞き込みで突き止めた「クボタショック」　うねり作った女性の執念 [The “Kubota Shock” uncovered through questioning: The tenacity of the woman who created the groundswell].

The Turkish language article cited below examined the process by which the British Ministry of Defence continued to send redundant naval ships to Turkey for dismantling. According to an analysis of recent data covering the period 2009 to 2024, 25 out of 31 retired UK ships were sent for scrapping to Aliağa shipbreaking yards which have been the subject of criticism by NGOs concerned over the “negative effects on the environment and public health” of unsafe working conditions. See: İngiltere donanma gemilerini söküm için neden Türkiye'ye gönderiyor? [Why does the UK send its naval ships to Turkey for dismantling?].

The historic presence of asbestos-using factories in Amagasaki City left a deadly legacy. According to new data, municipal mortality from mesothelioma – the signature asbestos cancer – was significantly higher than in other Japanese cities with 30% of the deaths occurring amongst the female population. Throughout Japan, the average proportion of female mesothelioma fatalities is 19%. Of 229 people surveyed, 92 couldn’t identify the source of their exposure. Mayor Makoto Matsumoto is calling on the government: “to further enhance permanent health care and damage relief systems.” See: 中皮腫死亡者の増加率高め　兵庫・尼崎市調査、アスベスト被害20年 [Increasing rate of mesothelioma deaths, Hyogo-Amagasaki City survey, 20 years of asbestos damage].

The article cited below included detailed information about the serious health hazards posed by the continuing use of asbestos-containing products in Indonesia. These toxic products are popular because they are relatively cheap. Unfortunately, exposure to the asbestos they contain can cause a variety of serious diseases and deadly cancers. Readers should, the author warned, choose asbestos-free alternatives for roofing such as: Metal Roof Tiles, Galvalum Roofs, Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride (UPVC) Roofs, Corrugated Bitumen Roofs, Non-Asbestos Fiber Cement Roofs or Polycarbonate Roofs. See: 5 Bahaya Menggunakan Asbes Sebagai Atap Rumah [5 Dangers of Using Asbestos in a Roof].

A debate (S6M-17647) on Action Mesothelioma Day (AMD) was secured by Marie McNair, Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Clydebank and Milngavie, on June 19, 2025. During this fourth annual debate on AMD, McNair pledged her backing for the campaign by victims’ groups to make the current owner of Cape PLC – formerly one of the UK’s largest asbestos conglomerates – pay a £10 million donation towards mesothelioma research. The debate secured cross-party support with contributions from Scottish National Party, Labour and Conservative MSPs. See: Action Mesothelioma Day debate in the Scottish Parliament. June 19, 2025.

The construction of the Yallourn Power Station in Gippsland, Victoria in the 1960s continues to claim more lives. The article cited below focused on the story of sheet metal worker Mick Tomkins, who began work as a sub-contractor at the site of the new W station at Yallourn in 1972. In 2024, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, the signature asbestos cancer. The working conditions were very dusty Mick told the reporter: “The laggers would go in and put the insulation on the pipes, and we would come in and coat them with sheet metal… You had a lot of asbestos dust … we would bring our overalls home, covered in white.” See: Calls for support as Latrobe Valley power workers continue to die from asbestos exposure.

The Labor Court of Bari last week recognized the right of a former technical assistant to obtain a monthly pension from Italy’s National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL) due to his contracting an asbestos-related disease. The claim by the 82-year old applicant, who had worked for Telecom Italia for 31 years, had been rejected in 2020 by INAIL See: “Vittima dell’amianto”, malattia riconosciuta dopo 31 anni di lavoro per ex tecnico Telecom di Bari [“Victim of asbestos”, disease recognized after 31 years of work for former Telecom technician in Bari].

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched an investigation of asbestos breaches by Oxford City Council (OCC) which, it said, had failed to take timely action to prevent toxic exposures in the town hall as well as other municipal buildings as per stipulations of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. This action was taken as part of an HSE campaign to inspect of hundreds of council buildings throughout the country to ensure compliance with mandatory asbestos management requirements. See: Council investigated over asbestos in town hall.

The implications for Indian citizens of the country’s massive consumption of asbestos – a substance outlawed in over 70 nations – was explored in the article cited below, which warned that the pollution hazard was an indoor as well as outdoor issue. According to the journalist Palavi Mehra: “Almost every home in India contains asbestos. Common places asbestos may be found include: Old roofing sheets, Cement water tanks, Floor tiles, Insulation materials… India could see up to 6 million cases of asbestos-related diseases in the coming years, with over 600,000 cancer cases predicted if action isn’t taken.” See: Deadly household asbestos fibres could raise lung cancer risk – What it is and expert shares tips to stay safe.

The timely and thoughtful article cited below examined current moves by Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to roll back the asbestos prohibitions adopted by the previous administration. According to Dr Arthur Frank, Professor of Public Health and Medicine at Drexel University: “This is another attempt by industry, going back to when they blocked the first EPA asbestos ban in 1989, to allow for continued use of a deadly material responsible for some 40,000 U.S. deaths and some 250,000 worldwide deaths each year.” See: Trump considering asbestos ban reversal sparks warning: “Lives at risk”.

The latest asbestos offensive from Russia is a rather jumbled and badly written article which boasted of Russia’s dominance of the global asbestos industry, with shipments of home-grown asbestos to China, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries as well as former Soviet republics. The national asbestos bans which have been achieved around the world were, said the anonymous author, a result of a commercial war mounted by the producers of alternative products, misinformed campaigners and the media. See: Маркетинговые войны: как асбест превратили в страшилку для потребителя [Marketing wars: how asbestos was turned into a horror story for the consumer].

In the second part of an astonishing survey detailing the multimillion pound asbestos scandal at UK universities, author Tom Quinn revealed some startling facts: the University of Manchester had the highest amount of asbestos-containing material (ACM) in its buildings as well as the highest number of asbestos-related claims; the University of Sussex had the highest number of high-risk ACM; Cardiff University had 7,142 ACMs in 196 of its buildings, Aberystwyth University had 2,564 ACMs across 129 buildings; and 92% of the buildings on the Ulster University campus contained asbestos. See: Terminal illnesses and endless costs: the enduring legacy of the asbestos industry in UK universities.

On June 16, 2025, President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed its intention to overturn asbestos prohibitions implemented by the previous administration. According to the EPA’s motion, the process of re-evaluating the 2024 regulations would take at least 30 months and most likely a lot longer. While polluters and vested interests – some of whom formerly employed current EPA officials – are no doubt, delighted with this news others have warned of the dire consequences for American citizens of future asbestos exposures. [Read full article]

Around the world, mobilization over the asbestos hazard continued to accelerate in recent weeks. Among the issues tackled were: the rights of victims, the responsibility of governments, deadly national legacies, the eradication of contaminated infrastructures and the need to outlaw asbestos use in countries which have not yet done so. The initiatives rolled out by civil society groups, trade unions and governments to raise public awareness, support the injured and protect populations in Asia, Africa and Europe confirm that the global asbestos discourse is now an integral part of mainstream discussions on human rights, environmental justice and green technology. [Read full article]

I always knew there was something Quixotic about the confrontation of British mining conglomerate Cape Asbestos by thousands of South Africans from poor mining communities in the late 1990s; just how epic the battle was has taken me 30 years to fully appreciate. The publication of a new book – In A Rain of Dust, Death, Deceit and the Lawyer who Busted Big Asbestos – was a revelation with its tale of corporate crime, apartheid capitalism, boardroom clashes, vulture funds and a huge cast of characters. Summing up the importance of this publication, one UK campaigner said: “This new book has a relevance not just to those of us fighting for the rights of the asbestos-injured but to everyone concerned about human rights, environmental justice and corporate responsibility.” [Read full article]

In a press release issued today, asbestos victims’ groups from around the world came together to welcome a new book: In a Rain of Dust – Death, Deceit and the Lawyer Who Busted Big Asbestos which was published in London on May 13, 2025. The text written by David Kinley joins the pantheon of other English-language classics which stripped away carefully crafted corporate façades to show the ugly reality which lies behind asbestos industry profits. The gripping story of how a London-based human rights solicitor with little prior knowledge about asbestos called to account one of the UK’s biggest asbestos conglomerates is not only a riveting read but also a timely reminder of the consequences of an industrial legacy that continues to cause death and destruction on a global scale. [Read full article]

Around the world, International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) was celebrated on April 28, 2025 by trade unions, labor federations and groups representing victims of workplace illnesses and accidents. Although the theme of this year’s activities was the threat of artificial intelligence to workers, many of the events held highlighted the imminent hazard posed by asbestos to workers both in countries where its use remains legal and those where it is banned. With millions of tonnes of asbestos material still contaminating national infrastructures and over a million tonnes of asbestos fiber being used every year, neither workers nor the public are safe from deadly exposures. The IWMD slogan: “remember the dead, fight for the living” is as apt now as it’s ever been. [Read full article]

For decades, the existence of a regional asbestos epidemic has been a fact of life for people living in towns near a former asbestos mine in Bahia, a state in the northeast of Brazil. A pionnering pulmonary screening program has now confirmed what local people already knew: there is, indeed, a high incidence of occupationally and environmentally caused asbestos cancers, asbestosis, pleural plaques and other respiratory diseases in the Bahia towns of Bom Jesus da Serra, Poções, Caetanos and Planalto. Recommendations made by the specialists who implemented the surveillance program included: continuous monitoring of at-risk individuals, better recording of disease levels and data and the creation of a local center of excellence for the treatment of lung diseases. [Read full article]

People continue to die from asbestos-related cancers and diseases more than thirty years after asbestos was banned in Italy. For decades, victims’ associations, trade unions, community groups and public prosecutors have sought to hold negligent parties to account for the damage done. One defendant who has been indicted and convicted in multiple jurisdictions is Swiss billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, former owner and a director of the Swiss Eternit company and the main shareholder of the defunct cement production company Eternit Italia. On April 17, the Turin Court of Appeal confirmed a lower court’s verdict which held him responsible for scores of asbestos deaths even though it reduced the length of the prison sentence. [Read full article]

It is remarkable to witness the heightened engagement of national authorities with asbestos legacies in key global hotspots. The imposition of new restrictions, progression of medical projects, upscaling of impact assessments and implementation of eradication programs are indicative of an ever-growing awareness of the urgent need for action to prevent future deaths. Work is also on-going in scores of other countries in screening at-risk populations, securing compensation for victims of asbestos-related diseases, documenting the crimes of asbestos defendants, highlighting long-standing injustices of compensation schemes, and exposing hazardous workplaces and practices. Scrupulous monitoring of developments is essential to preserve progress made in the battle for global asbestos justice. [Read full article]

A catalog of recent developments are suggestive of major problems at Russia’s second largest asbestos conglomerate: Uralasbest. On March 10, the company announced that the workforce would be put on a three-day week to save money on labor costs. Reacting to this news, panicked Uralasbest employees, already on minimum wage, told reporters that their income could decrease by a further 30%. Many were “seriously considering quitting.” Just a few days after the Uralasbest bombshell had exploded, the company announced that it was abandoning the three-day week in the face of employee “dissatisfaction.” The press service of Uralasbest declined to comment further. [Read full article]

After an eight-year wait, Brazilian and international asbestos watchers were optimistic that the Supreme Court’s (STF’s) definitive ruling on the illegality of asbestos exports would be handed down by March 14. As has happened so many times before, the delivery of an STF asbestos decision was upended. This time, the impasse was caused by Judge Kassio Nunes Marques, an appointee of the disgraced former President Jair Bolsonaro. Marques said he needed more time to consider the arguments of case ADI 6200. As he has been a STF Judge since November 5, 2020, one wonders why he had not found time to study the case files? There might be 103,000,000 reasons for this. [Read full article]

Two initiatives have come to the fore recently highlighting the human, environmental and ecological tragedy which has befallen Slovenia's picturesque Soča Valley. From 1921, this area was the heartland of the country's asbestos-cement industry with a sucession of companies routinely exposing thousands of workers and residents to carcinogenic asbestos fibers. A great debt is owed to author/researcher Jasmina Jerant and documentary photographer and filmmaker Manca Juvan who cast fresh eyes over an old scandal. Using their unique talents, they succeded in thrusting vital questions onto local, national and international agendas and once again forced us to question the compromises ordinary people are forced to make to provide for their families. [Read full article]

Brazilian asbestos, banned at home, continues to poison millions of people in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe etc. whilst simultaneously enriching Brazilian stakeholders. In 2023, international sales of Brazilian asbestos were worth $103,000,000, making Brazil the world’s 2nd largest exporter. Deadlines published by the Supreme Court (STF) for ending the legal limbo in which exports of this prohibited substance continued were inexplicably postponed in August and October 2024. On the eve of STF proceedings which could end the constitutional impasse, global campaigners issued a press release urging the Court to end this “immoral and unjustifiable double standard.” [Read full article]

There is a special place in hell reserved for the panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit which on November 27, 1991 derailed an incipient US ban on asbestos. The knock-on effect of the verdict was that asbestos use remained legal for another 33 years, creating yet more asbestos victims. It was with a pronounced sense of déjà vu that on Friday, February 21, 2025 I learned that the same court had acceded to demands from the Trump administration to pause implementation of a 2024 national asbestos ban. Under the administration of Republican President George W. Bush the asbestos cancer risk to Americans was ignored in 1991; knowing what we do about Donald Trump, is it likely that the outcome will be different this time around? [Read full article]

A statement issued on February 13th conveyed news of yet another win by Indonesian campaigners against asbestos vested interests. After six months of hearings, motions and deliberations, Chief Judge of the Central Jakarta District Court Marper Pandiangan threw out legal arguments by the asbestos manufacturers association (FICMA) which had sought huge damages from civil society groups following a March 2024 Supreme Court ruling mandating warning labels for asbestos roofing products. FICMA has until the middle of March to file an appeal. [Read full article]

News that the Republic of Moldova banned asbestos late last year must have sent a seismic shock to asbestos producers in Russia and Kazakhstan. Although Moldova had in recent years consumed little or no asbestos – in 2022 Moldova imported a mere $16,400 worth of asbestos, 80% of which came from Russia – the elimination of yet another national market will almost certainly intensify the high level of anxiety being experienced by asbestos stakeholders. Throughout the region, asbestos markets are looking increasingly unstable with mounting challenges of pro-asbestos rhetoric and growing awareness among national governments of the high costs being incurred by society for industry profits. [Read full article]

In the run-up to the glitzy 2025 awards season which sees recognition for stars of stage and screen, the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) is acknowledging impactful work of a different kind. Winners of the Screen Actors Guild, the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe and Critics Choice receive imposing and tasteful statuettes to mark their successes. Not so the “winners” of the IBAS Devil’s Dust Awards 2025 whose ruthless promotion of an acknowledged carcinogen and/or suppression of victims’ rights have earned them a rather revolting accolade: a virtual avatar appropriately nicknamed the Lucifer. With so many potential candidates, it was hard to chose this year’s “winners.” The entities named in this years Dishonors List come from Brazil, France & Indonesia. Want to know more? Read on. [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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