Why asbestos is still used around the world？

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring fibrous minerals. These are useful because of their excellent tensile strength, poor heat conduction and resistance to chemical attack. Asbestos materials have been used for insulation in buildings and in various products such as roofing materials, water supply lines and clutches, brake linings, gaskets and pads for automobiles. Today, chrysotile – the only commercial asbestos still in use – is mostly used in fibre cement boards.

The top producer is Russia, which mined around one million metric tonnes in 2015. The major mines are located in Asbest, around 900 miles northeast of Moscow. China mined over 400,000 tonnes, with Brazil coming in third and Kazakhstan fourth. In terms of importers, India, China and Indonesia each imported over 300,000, 200,000 and 150,000 metric tonnes, respectively, in 2015.

Hold on. Isn't asbestos banned already?

That depends on where you live. Asbestos is banned in more than 55 countries around the world, including Japan, Australia and all countries in the European Union. Iceland was the first to ban asbestos imports due to health concerns in 1983, followed soon after by Sweden. Germany banned asbestos in 1992 and UK did so in 1999. However, it continues to be used around the world, especially in Asia and Russia, and in small amounts in the US.

Didn't  the US ban the use of asbestos?

Yes. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first banned certain uses of asbestos in 1973 and banned most products in 1989; however, this was overturned by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991. To date, billions of dollars have been paid out due to asbestos litigation, which has severely restricted the use of asbestos in the US. Today, asbestos fibres in the US are mostly used in the diaphragm of chlor-alkali plants for the electrolysis of NaCl.

All of this could change. Last year, the EPA announced it would evaluate ten chemicals for risk to human health and the environment under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform. The EPA says asbestos exposure is associated with lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.

How much asbestos is used worldwide?

While it is no longer used in much of the Western world, countries such as India and China still include it in various products, using hundreds of thousands of metric tonnes each year. Inevitably, sometimes asbestos-containing products are shipped to Western countries.

And just because it's banned doesn't immediately remove all the asbestos already used. Millions of tonnes of asbestos still remain in buildings due to its use in the 20th century: as exposure to asbestos occurs mainly from breathing in fibres from contaminated air, disturbing these deposits can pose a health risk.