LKA Blog

In the 1980s when I first became involved in the asbestos-o-sphere, I remember printing off annual asbestos trade data collated by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). There would be several pages of information about consumers and producers. Salient asbestos statistics from 1985:

global output was 4,328,874 tonnes (t);
there were 19 asbestos-producing countries with the Soviet Union accounting for 58% of worldwide supplies;¹
68 consuming-countries were listed with Europe having the world’s highest regional usage – 2,932,215t (67% of the total of 4,347,121t).²

According to the most recent available data:

global output in 2024 and 2025 was 949,000t and 960,000t respectively;
the only 4 asbestos-producing countries were: Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Brazil;³
in 2023, there were 19 consumer countries;
Asia had the world’s highest regional usage – 1,310,000t (2023); this accounted for 99% of global use.⁴

Whichever way you look at it, the asbestos industry is in terminal decline. The situation worsened for the producers on September 18, 2026, when the Brazilian Supreme Court issued a verdict which will result in the closure of the country’s only operational chrysotile asbestos mine. ⁵

Image produced by ChatGPT from IBAS concept.

Although in the short-term the court-mandated closure of the Brazilian mine will be welcomed by the remaining global producers, the medium- and long-term prospects for the industry are grim as more and more countries make the transition to asbestos-free technologies.⁶ Struggling asbestos stakeholders could learn valuable lessons by studying the disappearance of the powerful and well-funded Canadian and Brazilian asbestos industries: gone by public demand. Time is not on their side.

¹ Only countries producing more than 1,000t/year were listed with the largest ones being: the Soviet Union (2,500,000t), Canada (750,190t), South Africa (194,905t), Zimbabwe (173,500t), Brazil (165,446t), China (150,000t), Italy (136,006t), US (57,547t), Greece (46,811) and Turkey (29,039t).

² Only countries using more than 1,000 t/year were counted.
USGS. Circular 1298. Worldwide Asbestos Supply and Consumption Trends from 1900 through 2003.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2006/1298/

³ USGS. Mineral Commodity Summaries. Asbestos. 2026.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-asbestos.pdf

⁴ Although the USGS category was entitled Asia and the Middle East, all the consumers listed under this heading were from Asia.
USGS. Asbestos Statistics and Information. [Download Minerals Yearbook. Asbestos. 2023 tables-only release.]
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/asbestos-statistics-and-information

⁵ Kazan-Allen, L. Brazilian Supreme Court Ends Asbestos Anomaly! September 24, 2026.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka-brazilian-supreme-court-ends-asbestos-anomaly.php

⁶ IBAS. Current Asbestos Bans. Updated June 23, 2026.
https://ibasecretariat.org/alpha_ban_list.php

September 22, 2026

Compare and Contrast: Different Images, Diverse Agendas

Last week, I came across two images which caused me to stop and reflect. Both showed people dressed in costumes designed to be child-friendly: one, the Chrysotile Witch, was created by the Brazilian Association of the Asbestos-Exposed (ABREA), the other by employees of Russia’s 2nd largest asbestos producer: Uralasbest.

Imagined cyberspace meeting of Brazil’s Chrysotile Witch and Russia’s Asbestos Company Mascot.

The images were as similar as they were different. Although they shared the same objective – to promote a positive response from members of the public, especially youngsters, to their message – one was an educational tool warning about the hazards of chrysotile (white) asbestos whilst the other was a marketing gimmick to promote Uralasbest, the main employer in the company town of Asbestos.

Chrysotile Witch with Brazilian and international campaigners in Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo, Brazil. June 8, 2008. Picture courtesy of ABREA.

The Chrysotile Witch made her debut in Sao Paulo’s public parks in 2008 as part of ABREA’s outreach program to engage with local communities.¹ Taking advantage of the beautiful Summer weather, one Sunday a month ABREA volunteers visited a different local park. Explaining the genesis of this project, Fernanda Giannasi, ABREA’s cofounder, said:

“The Chrysotile witch emerged from the need to facilitate communication about the risks of asbestos to children and teenagers who frequented public parks with their parents on weekends, where we conducted awareness campaigns for the general population with the slogan ‘ASBESTOS KILLS.’ This project, which lasted a year, had the support and sponsorship of the São Paulo City Hall’s Environment Department.

The Chrysotile witch was played by various members of a local theater group. She was accompanied by ABREA members who distributed educational leaflets, balloons, water bottles, and educational materials, and wore t-shirts and set up stands with banners explaining the campaign and posters of our members who had died from asbestos-related diseases.”²

ABREA members meet the public. Picture courtesy of ABREA.

The full-sized Russian asbestos mascot – nicknamed Chryzotik – was unveiled in August 2026 as part of Uralasbest’s program “Fun Meetings with Chryzotik;” its objective was to build loyalty to the town’s main employer.³

Chryzotik and some of his new kindergarten friends. Imagined Image produced by ChatGPT from IBAS concept.

At the beginning of the new school term, almost every kindergarten in the Russian monotown – a city devoted to the production of one product – was visited by the Chryzotik roadshow. Children were entertained with musical games, quizzes and stories about the open pit chrysotile asbestos mine:

“They enthusiastically tried on imaginary safety gear or eagerly guessed professions based on brief descriptions. The children asked questions about everything: how loud the excavators are, whether one can touch asbestos, and what life is like at a large mining plant.”⁴

Of course, I wasn’t at the events in the Russian classrooms but I think it highly unlikely that any of the toxic effects of a career in the asbestos mining industry were mentioned. According to a recent analysis of cancer mortality amongst Uralasbest’s miners and millers:

“Mesothelioma mortality was strongly increased with higher cumulative exposure levels… There was increasing mortality from lung cancer in men with increasing cumulative exposure, with a 40% higher risk of dying from lung cancer in the highest percentile of cumulative exposure…

The study confirms that exposure to dust containing chrysotile mined in the world’s largest active asbestos mine increases the risk of developing cancer in a dose-dependent manner. This was confirmed for mesothelioma and for lung cancer.”⁵

It’s heart-breaking to think that yet another generation of Russians is being brainwashed into early graves.

¹ Kazan-Allen, L., Castleman, B. History in the Making! June 25, 2008.
https://www.ibasecretariat.org/lka_history_in_making.php

² Email from Fernanda Giannasi. September 19, 2026.

³ Хризотик в гостях у детей [Chrysotik visiting children.] August 27, 2026.
https://www.uralasbest.ru/news/hrizotik-v-gostyah-u-detej

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ IARC. Cancer mortality in chrysotile miners and millers, Russian Federation: main results (Asbest Chrysotile Cohort Study). January 22, 2024.
https://www.iarc.who.int/news-events/cancer-mortality-in-chrysotile-miners-and-millers-russian-federation-main-results-asbest-chrysotile-cohort-study/

August 25, 2026

Victory in Virginia for US Pathologists against Johnson & Johnson

On August 19, 2026, US District Judge Jamar K. Walker for the Eastern District of Virginia issued his opinion in the case of Pecos River Talc LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, v. Theresa Swain Emory, et al.¹

Subject to an appeal by the company, the ruling brings to an end years of litigation against three US pathologists who published research findings documenting dozens of cancer cases which had been linked to the use of Johnson & Johnson’s iconic talc-based baby powder.

J&J talc-based baby powder on sale on Amazon UK August 18, 2024.

According to US asbestos expert Dr. Barry Castleman:

“Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has broken new ground in oppressing doctors, suing them just for publishing their findings in medical journals. J&J charged that the doctors did it for money and glory – that they lied, and did so with malice…

Drs. Teresa Emory, John Maddox, and Richard Kradin were sued for trade libel. The Court explained in its ruling: ‘To prove trade libel, a plaintiff must show (1) publication (2) with malice (3) of a false statement of fact (4) about the plaintiff’s product (5) causing special damages.’

The doctors’ publication of large numbers (75) of patients with mesothelioma with no other known asbestos exposure but who used cosmetic talc products were at issue. In its 29-page judgment, the federal court went through all the outrageous things that J&J’s lawyers dreamed up to accuse the doctors of. The Court concluded that these claims lacked support by evidence, considering and rejecting them one by one.

This story is a testament to the honor of these doctors, who provided medical testimony in court cases brought by mesothelioma victims against J&J and other companies. The scrutiny the doctors faced was as intrusive and relentless as the law would allow, with a limitless law machine looking for inconsistencies and errors in their every email, every medical record. every expert report they ever filed with a court.”²

Another J&J case against pathologist Dr. Jacqueline Moline continues.

Evidence showing that J&J sold the potentially deadly baby powder despite knowing of the asbestos contamination shocked US consumers and juries. It is no wonder that the company was desperate to make this chapter of its 140-year-old history disappear. We applaud the claimants, lawyers, scientists and others who stood firm in their determination to expose the company’s wrongdoings and its betrayals of consumers at home and abroad who had trusted the J&J brand. Sadly, their trust was misplaced.

¹ The August 19, 2026 judgment by US District Judge Jamar K. Walker for the Eastern District of Virginia in the case of Pecos River Talc LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, v. Theresa Swain Emory, et al can be viewed here: US J&J Talc Ruling August 19, 2026.

² Email from Dr Barry Castleman. August 22, 2026.

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