The American Public Health Association, also known as APHA, called on congress for a ban on the use of asbestos products at the end of their annual meeting last month. Almost all of the 12,000 health professionals that were present agreed with the proposed measure. The United States Environmental Protection Agency issued the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule more than 20 years ago in 1989, but it was overturned just two years later in 1991 by the rich and powerful asbestos industry lobby.

Since then, more than 40 developed countries across the world have completely banned the production and use of asbestos products. The United States and Canada remain as two surprising examples of nations that have thus far failed to completely protect the health interests of their populations in regards to asbestos exposure.

In the United States, asbestos continues to be imported for use in consumer products, construction materials, and some industrial and fabrication operations like the manufacture of brake pads. Last year, the USA actually saw an increase of asbestos imports of almost ten percent. Canada, on the other hand, is one of the last remaining developed nations that continues to mine and mill asbestos and holds the status of the world’s second largest asbestos producer, with Russia as the world’s first.

Due to the decades between the 1940’s and 1980’s when asbestos use was in its prime, much of the United States’ infrastructure is inundated with the dangerous material. Concrete, pipes, roofing tiles, flooring, drywall, insulation, vehicle paneling and other materials constructed throughout the 1980’s made extensive use of asbestos as a cheap, effective base for highly insulating, fireproof materials.

Unfortunately, the presence of asbestos fibers poses a serious threat to human health, causing diseases like asbestosis and mesothelioma with consequences ranging from respiratory difficulties to the development of terminal malignant tumors. Asbestos related diseases can take several decades to become diagnosable, which means that an asbestos ban may not visibly reduce their diagnoses for several generations.

The ban of asbestos by the European Union, and strict regulations regarding its use and safe handling in the United States and Canada dictate that the vast majority of asbestos materials are used in poorer, developing nations. India and China are both large scale importers of asbestos products, and continue to use pressed asbestos boards in the construction of homes and other buildings. A total ban of Asbestos in the United States could go a long way not only in protecting the health of our population, but in setting a respectable example for developing nations.

(Mesothelioma Watch, 24/12/2009)