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Following hot on the heels of the discovery of asbestos in colored sand products used by children in Australia and New Zealand, came news that asbestos has been found in lift brake pads used across Australia by the energy company Goldwind Australia, a subsidiary of Chinese firm Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology Co. Ltd. The brake pads were sourced from 3S Industry, a major Chinese-based supplier to Australia. According to a Goldwind spokesperson: “A comprehensive material and air testing program is underway to check for asbestos in other spare brake pads and in wind turbines.” See: Asbestos found in wind farm lift brake pads prompts safety response.

On November 19, 2025, a coalition of concerned parents, teachers and staff filed a complaint over the asbestos contamination of 12 Marseille schools which constituted, they alleged, a “deliberate endangerment of the lives of others.” The petitioners were supported by 7 trade unions and 3 asbestos victims’ associations. It is believed that 80+% of French schools still contain asbestos, a substance banned in 1997. See: France/Amiante: plus de 50 personnes et syndicats portent plainte à Marseille [France/Asbestos: more than 50 people and unions file a complaint in Marseille].

The illegal dumping of asbestos-containing building rubble and other construction waste was reported by the Volga Interregional Environmental Prosecutor's Office, Russia. The fly-tipping took place in the Alekseevsky ravine on the territory of the Kumysnaya Polyana nature preserve. The details of the case were under consideration by the investigating authority as per the provisions of Article 262 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. See: Aсбест, бетон, гипс, арматура: на «Кумысной поляне» устроили свалку, ущерб превысил 86 миллионов [Asbestos, concrete, gypsum, rebar: [illegal] landfill at Kumysnaya Polyana, the damage exceeded 86 million].

Last week, officials from New Zealand’s Ministry of Education told schools that it was their responsibility to remediate premises where asbestos-contaminated sand had been used. Taking exception to this position the President of the NZEI Te Riu Roa – the “most powerful education union” in New Zealand – Ripeka Lessels said: “Not only is this a question of budget deficits, more importantly, it may divert funding away from essential supports to learning.” Principal Lynda Stuart of May Road School agreed: “The ministry should pay for remediation. Instead, they are leaving us in the lurch and making us deal with it all.” See: Union calls for government to cover costs of removing asbestos-tainted sand from schools.

On November 21, 2025 Australian trade unions called “for an urgent overhaul of national asbestos health and safety laws to force employers to remove asbestos-containing materials from Australian workplaces, including schools.” Without such measures, the continued presence of deteriorating asbestos-containing material throughout the educational infrastructure would continue to cause deaths for decades to come. “Employers nationwide should,” said ACTU Assistant Secretary, Liam O’Brien “be required to develop a prioritised removal plan for all asbestos, and workers must have the right to act when their health is at risk.” See: Australia on track for more asbestos deaths, unions warn.

The thoughtful commentary cited below, which was uploaded on November 21, 2025, highlighted the deadly legacy posed by the presence of deteriorating asbestos-containing material throughout the UK’s built environment. The author of this text, Martin Guttridge-Hewitt, called on the government to acknowledge the toxic situation and take steps to actively address the very real threat posed to workers and members of the public by asbestos in schools, hospitals, council premises, workplaces, etc. See: Safe spaces: the insidious legacy of asbestos in UK public buildings.

On November 10, 2025, The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), a Global Union Federation representing 12 million workers in 117 countries, 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.” See: Prohibit all asbestos-bonded materials from IFC-invested projects.

A team of 32 scientists from throughout Italy, in collaboration with a Dutch colleague from Utrecht, published the paper cited below on November 17, 2025 in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Having examined data from Italy’s National Mesothelioma Registry for the period 2000–2021, the authors confirmed the link between occupational asbestos exposure in Italy and peritoneal mesothelioma. Concluding the paper, they reported that: “Peritoneal mesothelioma showed clear associations with asbestos exposure using different exposure assessment methods.” See: Peritoneal mesothelioma and asbestos exposure: a population-based case–control study in Italy, 2000–2021.

On November 12, 2025, a spokesperson for New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment confirmed that a voluntary recall had been issued, “as a precautionary measure,” for EC Rainbow Sand (1.3kg) and Creatistics – Coloured Sand (1kg) products over suspicions that they could contain asbestos fibers. Testing by Australian authorities of similar products had confirmed the presence of the carcinogen in colored sand products sold for use by primary school children. See: Recall of EC Rainbow Sand and Creatistics – Coloured Sand (1.3kg) due to potential asbestos contamination.

On November 17, 2025, Gwangju City Council member Choi Ji-hyun informed members of the Gwangju City Council, South Korea of her concerns over ongoing delays in the implimentation of the municipal asbestos eradication program for schools by Gwangju’s Metropolitan Office of Education. She said that a lack of funding was threatening the well-being of students as well as staff who were still being exposed to asbestos material present in schools. See: 최지현 시의원 "학교 석면 방치…'안전 후순위' 예산 관행 재검토해야" [City Council Member Choi Ji-hyun: “Asbestos is neglected in schools… We need to reexamine the ‘safety-secondary’ budgeting practice”].

More than two years after asbestos exposures took place in the aftermath of a fire at a blast furnace operated by steelmaker ArcelorMittal in Dunkirk, France, the labor inspectorate reported that toxic exposures had been experienced by 308 employees of the company and 85 workers from five external companies. A full report was submitted to Dunkirk’s public prosecutor "with a view to possible criminal prosecution.” See: Près de 400 travailleurs ont été exposés à l’amiante chez ArcelorMittal à Dunkerque, selon l’inspection du travail [Nearly 400 workers were exposed to asbestos at ArcelorMittal in Dunkirk, according to the labour inspectorate].

On November 18, 2025, parents of children attending a high school in Pohang City, South Korea mounted a protest and held a press conference to express anxiety over the scheduling of asbestos removal work at the school: part of the decontamination program was due to be carried out during September-October, thereby endangering students and staff. The parents’ concerns were supported by members of the Pohang Environmental Movement Alliance, the Environmental Health Citizen Center, and the Korea Asbestos Removal Network who also attended the rally. See: “포항제철고 학기 중 석면 공사 중단하고 안전 대책 수립하라” [“Stop asbestos construction during Pohang Steel High School semester and establish safety measures”].

Australia’s Banjima people, the traditional owners of the land on which the abandoned Wittenoom blue asbestos (crocidolite) mine is located, “have the highest per capita incidence of mesothelioma in the world.” Despite years of negotiations with the West Australian (WA) government, there are no plans to decontaminate the land despoiled by years of asbestos mining. Representatives of the Banjima people, who met with the WA Premier in September 2025, gave the Government until the end of the year to come up with a plan before legal action was taken. The clock is ticking. See: Renowned lawyer returns to Wittenoom asbestos case that changed his life.

Italy’s Ministry of the Environment has allocated a further €2.5 million (US$2.9m) to pay for the remediation of sites downstream from the former asbestos-cement factory owned by Eternit S.A. in Casale Monferrato. Although the industrial site was decontaminated previously, asbestos waste dumped by Eternit along the Lanza canal remains in place. The program to remediate and restore the land will be carried out jointly by State, Regional and local authorities. See: A Casale altri 2 milioni e mezzo di euro per bonificare il polverino di amianto [In Casale, another 2.5 million euros will be spent on asbestos dust removal].

On November 12, 2025, Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) published a recall notice for children’s sand products sold by various retailers including Officeworks between 2020 and 2025. The multi-colored sand products were recalled “because they may contain tremolite asbestos, a naturally occurring asbestos, which was detected in some samples after laboratory testing.” The news of the ACCC’s action spread like wildfire in Australia as well as New Zealand and scores of schools were closed as a precautionary measure. See: Customers warned of recalled children’s sand due to asbestos risks.

According to the report “UK Asbestos – The Definitive Guide” by the Faculty & Institute of Actuaries: “UK. employers and insurers will face up to 200,000 asbestos-related liability claims by 2040, with an economic impact of up to £20 billion” (~$26 billion). In the article cited below, the author Peta Miller reported that the number of asbestos-related claims “increased sharply over the past several years.” While there were 3,000 asbestos claims in 1993, in 2002 and 2003 there were, respectively, 6,000 and 10,000 claims. These figures were based on data sourced from employers’ liability and general liability policies held by 15 major UK insurance companies. [Note: the cited document has some typo errors in pound to dollar conversions.] See: Asbestos claims to soar in U.K., report forecasts.

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]

The timely article by Professor Arthur Frank is a damning indictment of global failures to engage with the threat posed by the continued presence and use of deteriorating asbestos-containing products throughout national infrastructures. Such toxic substances contaminate our homes, schools, hospitals, vehicles, water systems and environment. Almost half the text of this new feature, dealt with the health hazard posed by the use of asbestos pipes to deliver water. The concluding words of this commentary were chilling: “it is alarming that increasing amounts of exposure and increasing findings of ingestion-related asbestos disease continue to be noted in the scientific literature, with little being done to either educate the public or to educate physicians about these risks.” [Read full article]

A new medical scheme was launched by Liz Darlison, from Mesothelioma UK, and Kim Brislane, from Australia’s Asbestos Dust Diseases Research Institute (ADDRI) at an August 27, 2025 meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The initiative is a collaboration of Mesothelioma UK, ADDRI and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS). Welcoming news of the positive reception for the pioneering program, IBAS Coordinator Laurie Kazan-Allen said: “Asbestos-related diseases are notoriously difficult to diagnose. Experience has shown that building medical capacity of nursing staff can make a huge impact on the experiences of patients and family members.” [Read full article]

A recent analysis of global asbestos trade figures for 2023 revealed startling developments in four former Soviet Union Central Asian countries. While the world’s two biggest asbestos producers Russia and Kazakhstan consumed a mere 0.76 and 0.72 kilograms/kg per person that year, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan used a staggering 3.4 kg and 2.34 kg per capita and Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan 1.6 kg and 1.57 kg. According to an academic paper by scientists from the Kyrgyz Republic and Italy (2024), awareness of the asbestos hazard and asbestos monitoring capacity in all four countries are extremely low. [Read full article]

The headline of a front-page article in the Daily Mail on August 4, 2025 was as shocking as it was controversial: “Asbestos Kills More Troops than Taliban.” According to the first sentence in the hard-hitting exposé by Steve Boggan: “Asbestos killed nine times more military veterans than there were British victims of the Taliban during the Afghan campaign, government records reveal.” While a handful of other UK news outlets picked up this story, it was widely covered by the Russian media. This development was noteworthy as Russia, the world’s biggest producer of asbestos, continues to deny that asbestos exposures can cause cancers and other deadly diseases. [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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