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Asbestos vested interests in Indonesia are using a variety of legal and financial weapons to attack grassroots activists following their victory last year in the Supreme Court which supported calls for mandatory hazard warning labels to be affixed on asbestos-containing roofing products. The information and graphics accessible via the link provided below explain the timeline of the litigation and the repercussions – personal and professional – being suffered by the whistleblowers, activists and campaigning groups. including Ajat Sudrajat, Leo Yogapratama, Dhiccy Sandew, the Indonesia-Ban Asbestos Network and LPKSM Yasa Nata Budi. See: Standing Together: The Fight for Asbestos Safety in Indonesia.

The “asbestos-stricken” landmark building – the Bundesbank – which is the headquarters of Germany’s central bank is in the news once again over the €3.3 billion (US$3.8bn) price tag for ongoing redevelopment work. Half of the country’s gold reserves are stored in an underground vault at this site. Five thousand and four hundred Bundesbank employees work in the main office building and other premises on the surrounding campus. In 2021, the staff temporarily relocated to a 1970s high-rise in Frankfurt’s downtown banking district. See: Asbestos, gold and spiralling costs: Bundesbank weighs abandoning Frankfurt headquarters.

The academic paper cited below was published online on August 21, 2025 in a peer-reviewed journal by nine Chinese scientists. The focus of their research was on “the burden, trends, and contributing factors of laryngeal cancer due to asbestos exposure in China from 1990 to 2021.” Acknowledging that laryngeal cancer was a persistent public health challenge, the co-authors recommended that a multifaceted approach be adopted and high-risk individuals – older male workers with historical workplace asbestos exposure – be screened, to improve health outcomes. See: Burden of laryngeal cancer attributable to occupational asbestos exposure in China: A comprehensive analysis from 1990 to 2021.

Earlier this month, Italy’s Supreme Court issued a victims’ verdict in a case brought over the lung cancer/asbestosis death in 2012 of a man who from 1961 until 1996 had worked with asbestos-cement pipes. At no time was he warned of the asbestos hazard or provided with protection. This ruling overturned the earlier Court of Appeal decision. See: «Asbestosi nota dal 1943»: risarcimento ai familiari del lavoratore vittima di amianto [“Asbestosis known since 1943”: compensation to family members of worker who was a victim of asbestos].

In a press statement issued on August 22, 2025, the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party of South Africa’s Free State Province called for urgent action to remove asbestos roofing from homes across the Kopanong Municipality, because of the cancer threat posed by the presence of the toxic material. The DA wants: a comprehensive eradication of asbestos roofing from the housing stock; financial support from the provincial and national government for replacement roofing; and a comprehensive asbestos audit to identify and quantify the size and scope of the contamination. See: DA calls for urgent action on asbestos roofs in Kopanong.

Australia is a country rich in natural minerals. The mining of these minerals is simultaneously a boon to the economy and a threat to public health. The August 25th article cited below covered a range of industrial practices, including the historic mining of asbestos. Acknowledging the “increased morbidity and mortality” caused by asbestos mining, the authors pointed out that most of the research conducted to date concentrated on the outcome of exposures caused by mining operations in Wittenoom, Western Australia. The repercussions of exposures to asbestos mining elsewhere in Australia remain, on the whole, unassessed. See: The public health impacts of mining in Australia.

As a result of government initiatives, the asbestos industrial sector in Turkmenistan is growing. Using heavy equipment imported from China, one such company – “Päkize aý” (Pure Moon) – was opened in 2021. The 50-strong workforce manufactures asbestos-cement roofing material. The author of the article cited below incorrectly alleged that 90% of the raw materials used at the factory were locally sourced; there is no asbestos mine in Turkmenistan, so the raw asbestos fiber used in the production process is imported. There was no mention in the text of the hazard posed by on-site asbestos exposures experienced by workers and no information on the provision of occupational protective equipment. See: Demand for products of individual enterprise “Päkize aý” — a manufacturer of roofing materials — is growing.

Croatia’s asbestos saga drags on, with a postponement of the government’s one week deadline for an asbestos-laden Italian ferry – the Moby Drea – to be removed from territorial waters. Last week it was announced that the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure had granted the request of the vessel’s owner for an additional 15 days after which the ship must be removed from the Brodosplit shipyard and from Croatia. In the meantime, it was forbidden for any asbestos removal work to be carried out. The Split Port Authority was ordered to ensure compliance with this decision. See: NOVI ROK Brodu s azbestom dali još 15 dana za boravak u Splitu [NEW DEADLINE: Ship with asbestos given another 15 days to stay in Split].

The August 5, 2025 article by Zoe Reynolds which is cited below provided a snapshot of some of the glaring issues stemming from widespread asbestos contamination in Indonesia. Half of all the 10.7 million homes in the capital city of Jakarta have asbestos-cement roofing. As Ms. Reynolds explained: “Indonesia sits on the Ring of Fire with earth tremors every four hours. On average, 2052 earthquakes of a magnitude 4 or over on the Richter scale rock the archipelago each year.” The use of asbestos remains legal in Indonesia and there are, as yet, no government mandates about the labeling of asbestos-containing products. See: Asbestos disaster rocks Indonesia.

When/if the war finally ends in Ukraine, the reconstruction work needed to address the damage caused by the widespread bombardment of the country will be colossal. Amongst the pressing problems will be the “secondary environmental disaster, uncontrolled asbestos contamination” caused by the Russian attacks. According to Melody Kemp, the author of the article cited below: “Many fear that the ensuing contamination will create an epidemic of illness for which surviving facilities and aid agencies are woefully ill-equipped to deal with.” In years gone by, Ukraine was a major asbestos consumer and one of the best customers for Russian asbestos. See [subscription site]: The dust that will outlast the war.

The discovery of 210 square meters of deteriorating asbestos-cement roofing tiles on a busy open-air market in the Wuri District of Taichung City, Taiwan has led to calls for the authorities to eradicate the toxic roofing. In a statement issued on August 19th, the municipality said specialist advice was being sought about the precise nature of the contentious material. Subject to confirmation, the hazard will be eradicated by the end of this year “at the earliest.” See: 乌日市场屋顶藏危机！近40年石绵瓦曝致癌风险 市府：最快年底汰换 [Wuri Market's rooftop faces a potential danger! Nearly 40-year-old asbestos tiles pose a cancer risk; the city government mandates replacement by year's end].

A disturbing asbestos “incident” was reported by correspondent Emma Draper in the article cited below; illegally discarded asbestos waste was found in a skip at the Northern Civic Amenity Site (NCAS) Balladoole, in Ramsey, a coastal town on the Isle of Man. According to Deputy Chair Sandra Cottam-Shea, Vice-Chair of Ramsey Town Commissioners: “there are ‘low staffing levels’ at the NCAS and it has had to reduce its operations, including not taking commercial waste for the time being.” A specialist team was called in to eradicate the contamination. See: Ramsey Commissioners says asbestos issue at NCAS was taken 'seriously'.

An outreach program implemented earlier this year revealed the horrific level of damage still being done by asbestos production, even though the local mine in Bahia was shut in 1967. According to recently released data, of the 584 people tested, all of whom at high-risk of contracting an asbestos-related disease, 68 were positive, with almost half of them reporting environmental exposures to asbestos. The research was organized by the Brazilian Association of the Asbestos-Exposed and the Association of Asbestos-Contaminated Victims and Exposed Families in collaboration with workers’ health activists and organizations including Fiocruz, InCOR, Hospital de Amor and the Public Ministry of Labor. See: Mesmo proibido, o amianto ainda faz vítimas [Even though it is banned, asbestos still claims victims].

Officials in a residential district of the City of San Fernando, Philippines have called on the Pampanga Provincial Council to take action on the hazard posed by the continued use of decades-old asbestos-cement water pipes. Christian Halili, chair of the Committee on Energy, Water and Public Utilities, advised the Pilar Waterworks Corporation that it had 10 days to obtain a permit to replace old asbestos pipes being used in its water distribution system. According to Halili, this remediation was considered high priority given the risk to public health. See: SP hears petition to replace asbestos pipes, gives water firm 10 days to get digging permit.

Asbestos roofing is a common sight throughout Pristina, the Kosovo capital. According to government data, there are more than 230 thousand square meters of roofs and ~70 kilometers of asbestos-containing water pipes in the capital. In 2024, Pristina’s Mayor launched the “Pristina without asbestos” campaign to eradicate the health hazard and protect public health. Work commissioned by the municipality for an audit of asbestos roofing in the capital was carried out this year by a private contractor. A three phased tendering process will be launched in due course for interested companies capable of carrying out asbestos removal work. See: Asbestos still in Pristina, remains a concern for citizens.

For decades, a 75-acre derelict industrial site off Spod Road, Rochdale has been both an eyesore and a public health hazard. The production of asbestos-containing building material at the Turner Brothers factory was accompanied by widescale dumping of toxic offcuts and waste. The contamination which resulted from the liberation of asbestos by the manufacturing processes and the fly-tipping contributed to the local name for the area: “Rochdale's Chernobyl.” Developer after developer came and went but redevelopment schemes were dropped or barred by the local Council. Local people and campaigners expressed concern about the latest plans for the site by Spodden Park Ltd. See: Abandoned for years, something is moving inside ‘Rochdale's Chernobyl’.

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]

News that an asbestos-laden 50-year-old Italian ferry – the Moby Drea – was bound for Croatia in July/August 2025 was not well received by people living near the Brodosplit shipyard. The day after the ship arrived, hundreds of people turned up for a high-profile protest which was supported by NGOs and local politicians including the new Mayor of Split. Campaigners continue their efforts to secure answers to the very detailed questions raised by the seemingly illegal import of the toxic waste site that is the Moby Drea. The uproar in Split shows no signs of abating any time soon. [Read full article]

It continues to amaze me how each country needs to do its own research to reaffirm the deadly consequences of asbestos exposures. Newly published reports about the health hazard posed by airborne and waterborne asbestos fibers in Kyrgyzstan, Iran and Canada are typical. According to the texts of these academic papers: “a remarkable amount of chrysotile (white asbestos)” was found in the air and lungs of people living near asbestos processing factories; air samples taken in high-traffic areas had high to very high asbestos fiber concentrations; and samples from rivers in a former asbestos mining region showed “an increase in the concentration of asbestos fibers in the water and sediments.” [Read full article]

During the 20th century, a handful of multinational conglomerates controlled global asbestos production, processing, marketing and sales. For decades, the industry’s dominance of the asbestos agenda enabled it to off-load liabilities onto individuals, communities and governments. The price paid by the injured was horrific and the economic costs incurred were colossal. Recent political and legal developments in the UK, the Netherlands and Australia suggest that traditional corporate asbestos avoidance strategies may have been compromised. [Read full article]

An intriguing and somewhat confusing headline – Trump Administration, Reversing Itself, Won’t Rewrite a Ban on Asbestos – in the July 7, 2025 issue of the New York Times caught my attention. Three weeks previously, the Republican government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had confirmed its intention to overturn asbestos prohibitions implemented by the previous administration. By July 7, all that had changed. The shift in approach from formal rulemaking to the provision of guidance on complying with the terms of the prohibitions realigns the US with other G7 countries and 36 of the OECD’s 38 members which have banned asbestos. For the time being, the status quo has been reinstated. Whether it remains in place, only time will tell. [Read full article]

In the run-up to the UK’s annual day of asbestos remembrance – Action Mesothelioma Day – the latest national asbestos mortality data was released on July 2, 2025. With the number of deaths from other asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) added to those from mesothelioma, the total annual death toll, once again, exceeds 5,000, more than three times the number of road traffic fatalities and nearly eight times the number of murders which occur every year in the UK. Since the first AMD was held in 2006, it’s been calculated that more than 100,000 Britons have died from asbestos-related diseases. It is tragic to think of the many more lives which will be lost due to government intransigence, bureaucratic obstacles and lack of technical capacity. [Read full article]

Welcoming the new Korean President, who took office on June 4, 2025, civil society groups launched a rolling program of weekly public rallies in the capital to highlight critical issues including the country’s deadly asbestos legacy, the dumping of Fukushima nuclear wastewater and Korea’s humidifier disinfectant disaster. Despite achieving a remarkable success in eradicating the asbestos hazard from schools, dangerous asbestos loopholes and unaddressed problems remain, including failures of compliance with mandatory asbestos regulations; the continued presence of nearly a million asbestos-contaminated buildings; and the lack of support for some groups of asbestos victims. [Read full article]

On June 24, 2025, the Constitutional Court of Slovenia handed down a historic verdict upholding the successor right of relatives to bring a legal action for the asbestos death of a family member. According to the Court, the previous position which barred them from doing so – as laid out in the Act on Remedying the Consequences of Work with Asbestos – was unconstitutional. As a direct consequence of this ruling the National Assembly must adopt measures implementing this policy reversal within one year. In the meantime, heirs of deceased victims whose asbestos-related diseases had been medically recognized may submit compensation claims. [Read full article]

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]

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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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