Asia, a Dumping Ground for Toxic Asbestos

Increasing consumption of Chrysotile (white asbestos) in Asian countries has assumed alarming proportion. Some 52 countries have banned asbestos.

China, India, Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea are among the world’s top 10 asbestos consumers. But consumption in Japan and South Korea is decreasing while it is increasing in most other Asian countries.

Consumption pattern

Japan:
Asbestos consumption decreasing.

Per capita consumption: 0.6kg

After rampant use of asbestos in post-World War II reconstruction, Japan curtailed its asbestos consumption by 90% since October 2004.

With the damage already done, deaths from pleural mesothelioma will peak in 2030, a good 60 years after imports of asbestos peaked in the country.

Thailand:
Asbestos consumption increasing
Per capita consumption: 1.9kg
Asbestos has been in use in Thailand for over 30 years. Its consumption more than doubled from 1987 to 2002 with supplies coming from Russia, Canada, Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Zimbabwe. Thailand is a classic case of the yawning gap that exists between law and reality in developing countries. The government banned imports of crocidolite in 1992 but imports continued at least until 2002 (together with imports of other types of asbestos).

Vietnam:
Asbestos consumption increasing
Per capita consumption: 0.2 kg
Among the smaller Asian nations, Vietnam is the country that is making the most serious efforts to ban asbestos altogether. The country has developed PVC manufacturing units that replace asbestos as raw material for piping. Yet, asbestos products are preferred because they are cheaper than PVC products.

China:
Asbestos consumption increasing
Per capita consumption: 0.4kg
China is one of the leading producers and users of asbestos in Asia and the world. This is despite the fact that the first case of asbestos-related cancer was detected in the country way back in the 1950s. Even today, Chinese workers and prisoners continue to work in asbestos-polluted environments with little protective gear and minimal safety system.

India:
Asbestos consumption increasing
Per capita consumption: 0.2 kg
India is both a producer and importer of asbestos. Domestic production meets with only 30% of the country’s asbestos needs and the rest is imported from Canada, Russia, and Zimbabwe. Sacks containing asbestos are opened by Indian workers with a knife without any protective mask and clothing.

Pakistan:
Asbestos consumption: rising
Consumption: 4,000 tons
While an asbestos ban remains a long-term goal in this country as in other countries of the region, occupational exposure to asbestos dust is the norm in the construction industry in Pakistan. In the region called NWFP, 601 cases of mesothelioma were detected between 1995-2003 though it is quite likely that a lot more cases were either not detected or not registered.

South Korea:
Asbestos consumption decreasing
Per capita consumption: 0.5kg

Malaysia:
Asbestos consumption: No change
Per capita consumption: 0.9kg

Indonesia:
Asbestos consumption increasing
Per capita consumption: 0.3kg

Philippines:
Asbestos consumption increasing
Per capita consumption:

Singapore:
Asbestos consumption almost nil
Per capita consumption: 0kg

Taiwan:
Asbestos consumption decreasing
Per capita consumption: 0.2kg

The main asbestos-related diseases are: asbestosis, and mesothelioma:

• Asbestosis: This is a non-malignant disease that affects both lungs. If exposure to asbestos dust continues, it can deteriorate to malignant mesothelioma.

• Mesothelioma: This is a malignant, usually fatal disease that affects the mesotheleum, the protective lining over the body’s internal organs (usually lungs). The disease is usually detected 10-50 decades after the causative asbestos exposure and survival period is less than two years post-detection in most cases.