News:

News text:

A statement issued on April 17, 2025 by the National Education Union (NEU) – the largest education union in the UK and Europe – at its 2025 annual conference in Harrogate highlighted the deadly consequences of continuing government neglect of school infrastructure: “School building safety is of paramount importance, yet successive governments have paid lip service to it, especially where asbestos is concerned. The number of school staff and former pupils who have died from mesothelioma as a result of being exposed to asbestos at school continues to grow.” See: Health and safety in education – learning from Grenfell.

On April 17, 2025, the Court of Assizes of Appeal of Turin, Italy handed down a mixed verdict; while the new ruling confirmed a lower court’s guilty verdict of Swiss billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, it reduced his punishment from 12 to 9 years and 6 months in jail. The defendant was convicted of having committed multiple manslaughters of workers at his company’s asbestos factory in Casale Monferrato. Schmidheiny had previously also been held responsible for asbestos deaths in several other Italian jurisdictions. See: Processo Eternit bis: pena ridotta all’ex amministratore Schmidheiny per le morti da amianto [Eternit bis trial: former administrator Schmidheiny receives reduced sentence for asbestos-related deaths].

Although some restrictions on asbestos were implemented in 1999 and 2005, the use of asbestos-containing products in Malaysia remains legal, despite a government pledge to consider a national ban. The article cited below is a timely discussion of the deadly hazards posed by workplace and environmental exposures to asbestos and a reminder that scores of other countries have already acted to protect populations by prohibiting asbestos use. A spokeswoman for the Consumers’ Association of Penang, which has supported an asbestos ban for decades, called on the government to take decisive action sooner rather than later. See: Asbestos: The tiny fibres that threaten our lives.

On March 9, 2025, structures in the vicinity of waterblasting operations on the roof of 102 Daniell Street, a domestic property in the Wellington suburb of Newtown, were contaminated by an asbestos slurry coming off the roof. Tests commissioned by local people found two types of asbestos in the debris. According to a council spokesperson there was “minimal risk to the general public,” nevertheless eradication work is being progressed by specialist contractors at buildings downwind of the site. See: Asbestos blown on to Wellington homes by waterblasters.

On April 21, 2025 Councilor Sung Chang-yong, a member of the Planning and Finance Committee of South Korea’s Busan City Council, urged the municipality to take urgent action to protect citizens from the continuing hazard posed by the city’s shipbuilding legacy. Operations at the contaminated site continue to endanger the lives of workers as well as local people by liberating carcinogenic asbestos fibers into the atmosphere, he said, during the first plenary session of the 328th Extraordinary Congress. See: 성창용 부산시의원 "부산시, 수리조선소 유발 '환경성질환' 적극 대응해야" [Busan City Councilor Sung Chang-yong, “Busan City must actively respond to ‘environmental diseases’ caused by repair shipyards”].

A study published in journal Lung Cancer reported that China and the US had the world’s highest numbers of deaths from mesothelioma, the signature cancer associated with exposure to asbestos. However, in 2021 “the ASIRs [age-standardized incidence rates] and ASDRs [age-standardized death rates] for mesothelioma were highest in the United Kingdom and Australia. The ASIRs were 2.01 for the UK and 2.00 for Australia. The ASDRs were 1.82 and 1.75, respectively.” See: US Had Second Highest Number of Deaths From Mesothelioma in 2021.

On April 17, 2025, a decision by Chief Judge Yasushi Taniguchi of the Osaka High Court, Japan reversed a December 2024 verdict by Judge Yuki Tatsuno who had supported the government’s defence that the claim – from the family of a deceased asbestos factory worker – was barred by the statute of limitations. In the new ruling, Judge Taniguchi rejected this argument and ordered the government to pay compensation of ¥6 million (US$42,150) to the family. See: アスベスト被害の賠償請求権、除斥期間の起点は「労働局の被害認定時」…元労働者側が大阪高裁で逆転勝訴 [Statute of limitations for asbestos damage claims begins "when damage is certified by Labor Bureau" – former worker wins case in Osaka High Court].

Results reported this month of a medical surveillance program of at-risk populations in the Brazilian State of Bahia raised serious concerns about the ongoing legacy of the commercial exploitation of asbestos at the Sao Felix Asbestos Mine in Bom Jesus da Serra and Poçoes. Out of a total cohort of 584 people examined, 66 were diagnosed with one or more asbestos-related diseases: 30% had been exposed at work with the remaining 70% exposed to asbestos in the environment. See: Estudo revela impactos do amianto na saúde da população do sudoeste baiano [Study reveals the impacts of asbestos on the health of the population in southwest Bahia].

People living in the Kadikoy district of Istanbul are mobilizing over the hazardous conditions caused by developers’ continued failure to comply with mandatory asbestos health and safety regulations. Contractors are, they allege, falsifying clearance certificates to speed up demolition and clearance work on new projects and not removing asbestos material as required. Municipal officials deny these claims. Commenting on the situation Chest Diseases Specialist Sedat Urkmez warned: “Inhaling construction dust, especially if asbestos is present, can cause serious issues for cancer patients or those with weakened immune systems.” See: Asbestos concerns erupt during urban transformation on Istanbul’s Bagdat Avenue.

The commentary cited below by journalist Katharine Quarmby called on the UK Government to prioritize the eradication of the asbestos hazard from the UK infrastructure: “Every month that the Government fails to act is another month in which people are being exposed to asbestos through no fault of their own – in their homes, at work, in the air and in public buildings. It doesn’t need to be that way – but only the Government can really turn this around.” See: Why the Government has to deal with the UK’s asbestos legacy.

At a Barcelona press conference earlier this month, leaders of community and workers’ groups highlighted concerns over continued failures by developers to abide by mandatory health and safety regulations. The Association of Retirees and the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Barcelona, which are calling for the removal of the asbestos material remaining within the Barcelona built environment, stipulated that this must be accomplished “always under appropriate conditions.” Several recent cases of dangerous worksites in local neighborhoods – La Verneda, Poblenou, and Eixample – were reported. See: Dangerous asbestos removal in Barcelona denounced: “No one checks to see if fibers are released”.

An article uploaded last month, reported that on On March 11, 2025, the Kenyan Cabinet officially approved a nationwide program to eliminate the asbestos hazard from the built environment. In a press release about this decision, an official spokesperson explained that it was taken not only to “enhance public health and safety” but also to “reduce future disease burden, cut healthcare costs, and enhance environmental safety.” According to a directive issued at the meeting chaired by President William Ruto: “NEMA will oversee the safe removal, disposal, and handling of asbestos. County governments were urged to establish designated disposal sites.” See: Asbestos, the deadly material lining Kenya's public institutions.

The link below is to an interview with NY investigative journalist Gardiner Harris whose new book: “No More Tears: The Dark Secrets Of Johnson & Johnson (J&J),” reveals key J&J scandals including the company’s predatory marketing techniques, suppression of research findings and deadly decision-making processes which supported the continued sale of asbestos-containing talc-based powder and other pharmaceuticals decades after the human health hazards were known. See: ‘No More Tears’ author discusses Johnson & Johnson's questionable business practices.

According to Ömer Fethi Gürer, a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and a member of the TURKPA Commission on Environment, Natural Resources and Health Protection, 2,700 kilometers of drinking water pipes in Turkey are still made of asbestos-cement. They should, he said, be replaced as a matter of urgency because of the hazard they posed to human health. Over the last 15 years, 82% of asbestos water pipes – equal to 15,000 kilometers – have been replaced in Turkey. See: CHP'li Gürer duyurdu: '2 bin 700 kilometrelik içme suyu borusu asbestli' [CHP's Gürer announced: ‘2,700 kilometers of drinking water pipes are asbestos’].

Trade union representatives at garage workshops in Molenbeek, in the Brussels capital region of Belgium, reported concerns over the presence of asbestos at the workplace. The premises were owned by the Brussels Public Transport Company (the STIB). As a precautionary measure, the company announced that the 80 workers from the Molenbeek premises, would be relocated temporarily until testing and decontamination efforts had been completed. See: Amiante dans un atelier de la Stib à Molenbeek: le niveau inférieur à la norme requise, le personnel déménagera "par précaution" [Asbestos in a STIB workshop in Molenbeek: level not meeting required standard, the staff will move “as a precaution”].

According to NY Mayoral candidate Brad Lander, who is currently New York City Comptroller, in 2023-24 the Department of Education failed to carry out mandatory inspections of 82% of the city’s 1,700 school buildings. Commenting on the potential deadly consequences of this oversight for school users Lander said: “No level of exposure is safe, and prolonged exposure to asbestos during childhood can cause lung disease and can cause cancer.” See: Over 80% of NYC public schools built with asbestos were not inspected from 2023-2024, audit shows.

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]

As recently as 2020, Russia was the world’s leading supplier of asbestos, accounting for 65% of global output. A mere three years later this figure had fallen to 48% with Russian producers facing falling demand and increasing competition. In the December 2024 newsletter produced by Uralasbest, Russia’s second biggest asbestos conglomerate, its General Director explained that among the challenges the company faced in 2024 were bureaucratic hurdles and logistical obstructions – i.e. persistent and continuing disruptions to asbestos cargo rail shipments. What he failed to mention, however, was the progress being achieved by global campaigners which has “significantly reduced the possibility of exporting chrysotile asbestos… [and created] the crisis faced by asbestos-producing businesses.” [Read full article]

Against the backdrop of a continuing decrease in global asbestos consumption, work to quantify and address toxic industrial legacies was continued this year by grassroots campaigners, civil society stakeholders, national, regional and international authorities. Amongst high-profile topics debated in multiple jurisdictions were the asbestos contamination of schools, water delivery systems and the built environment; the risks posed by asbestos in personal hygiene products and cosmetics; and the unregulated and unsafe dumping of asbestos waste. Technological developments and the building of infrastructure by asbestos stakeholders made manifest their intention to continue profiting from asbestos sales despite the health hazards. It is clear that despite our many successes, much work remains to be done. [Read full article]

In light of many positive comments he has made over the last 30+ years about the efficacy of asbestos – eg. “asbestos is the greatest fireproofing material ever used” – international campaigners have been discussing what the new Presidency of Donald Trump could mean for the global asbestos dialogue. Two US experts consulted by the author of this article felt that given the small amount of asbestos used in the US now and the pending abolition of most uses, Trump would have little interest in attacking the new asbestos prohibitions being introduced. One can but hope. [Read full article]

Last week, global ban asbestos groups issued a joint press release in defence of Indonesian activists at the Independent Consumer Protection Institute (LPKSM), the Yasa Nata Budi Foundation and the Indonesian Ban Asbestos Network (INABAN) working to protect the population from deadly exposures to asbestos. In a blatant disregard for occupational and public health, the Fiber Cement Manufacturing Association – a powerful and well-resourced trade association representing the interests of the asbestos industry – is suing the campaigners for “massive damages” after a Supreme Court ruling upheld their petition to mandate labelling on asbestos products. [Read full article]

Mobilization on the asbestos hazard has been ongoing in Pacific Islands Countries and Territories for a number of years with work by personnel from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and partnering organizations bringing positive results, such as the 2024 ban on asbestos imports and use in the Republic of Nauru (gazetted on October 10 and 30, respectively). Significant developments in protecting populations from deadly asbestos exposures have also been achieved in Niue, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In the shadow of the UN’s 29th Climate Change Conference, it is clearer than ever that asbestos technology is neither sustainable nor acceptable and must be banned. [Read full article]

The International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) was founded in November 1999 by Laurie Kazan-Allen in collaboration with colleagues in North and Latin America, Asia, Europe and Australia to achieve justice for the injured and coalesce the global fight to ban asbestos. Over the next 25 years, this virtual consortium of activists organized, sponsored or participated in events and initiated or supported projects to achieve these objectives on six continents. The article marking IBAS’ 25th anniversary recalled the challenges faced, the memories amassed, the victories achieved and the setbacks faced. Input from global ban asbestos campaigners included in this review delineated the “IBAS Effect” as they experienced it. [Read full article]

Latest Articles:    click titles twice for full article

Topics:

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.

From Article: