Asbestos: A Global Epidemic in Need of a Global Solution

By Kevin Purse

The world is experiencing an unprecedented industrial epidemic caused by exposures to asbestos.

During the 20th century the epidemic took root in the predominantly industrialised countries of Europe, North America and Australia -and, in Australia's case, has resulted in the world's highest per capita incidence of mesothelioma. The eventual adoption of stringent safeguards and escalating litigation, followed later by national bans on the import and use of asbestos in many of these countries, contributed to a global restructuring of the asbestos industry. These developments have seen asbestos production and consumption shift increasingly to the rapidly industrializing countries of Asia and South America. Purse argues that unless strict standards and national bans are imposed to manage existing sources of asbestos exposure the asbestos epidemic will continue unabated.

(CCH Journal of Occupational Health and Safety-Australia and New Zealand; vol. 22, no 1; pp21-6)