This book is a translated version of the original English report published in July 2007, authored by Laurie Kazan-Allen from International Ban Asbestos Secretariat in collaboration with 15 other organisations from Asia and other parts of world. The report details the alarming level of asbestos consumption in Asia which is in stark contrast to the complete ban or bare minimal asbestos consumption in many industrialised countries. Asbestos has caused unprecedented damage to the health of workers and communities globally. In industrialised countries in spite of the complete ban and drastic reduction of its use, people continue to die and suffer with asbestos- related diseases due to the past exposure they had. Asbestos related diseases have a long latency period (i.e. time between the exposures to development of the disease), sometimes even up to 40 years.   

 The book also reveals that the asbestos ban and reduced consumption in the west meant that manufacturers started to search for new markets and Asia has emerged as the single largest market with China and India being the largest consumers. The high consumption in Asia is also related to the fact that it is heavily promoted in Asia especially by the Canadian Chrysotile Institute which has been claiming that chrysotile (white asbestos) is safe to use if used under ‘controlled’ conditions. Canada is one of the largest producers of asbestos and exports most of it to Asia.

In Asia, due to lack of diagnostic facilities, asbestos related sicknesses continue to remain undiagnosed and thus do not get reported. This sometimes gives a false picture about the situation at the ground. It is widely believed that controlled used of asbestos is not practically possible in Asian workplaces. Countries that have banned asbestos are using safer alternatives and asbestos has been replaced completely by them.

 Finally, China is the largest consumer of asbestos in the world, consuming more than 500,000 metric tonnes per year- about 25% of the global consumption. China is also one of the largest producers of asbestos, yet the demand for consumption, both domestic use and also for export, is so high that it has to import an even larger quantity to maintain the present consumption levels. Such large levels of consumption should be of a grave concern considering the fact that all forms of asbestos have been linked to serious respiratory illnesses, ranging from asbestosis to mesothelioma and lung cancers.

 This book contains information about the hazards of asbestos and steps being taken in different Asian countries to ban its use. We sincerely hope that this book can make a contribution towards the ban asbestos movement in China.