Human Toll Reaches Millions as Asbestos Industry Expands Worldwide

The hazards of asbestos are well known in Australia but there is still a thriving global trade in this product.

This report from investigative journalists published on line at the Centre for Public Integrity explores the issue.

Asbestos cement substitutes — roofing and pipes made with cellulose fibers, ductile iron and fiberglass, for example — fWHO has determined that, at most, they cost 10 to 15 percent more to produce. But if the human life and suffering cost is factored in then, asbestos is not much of a bargain. “Obviously, the cost of death and disease and the eventual cost of even halfway properly managing asbestos cement structures wipes out any short-term savings of 10 to 15 percent,” Castleman says. As for another industry claim — that substitute products may be more dangerous than chrysotile — he notes, “They do not release carcinogenic dust whenever they are sawed, drilled, and demolished.

Overview: Exporting an Epidemic - Dangers in the Dust covers the online report.