Asbestos on World Health Organization’s 10 Most Unwanted List
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010The use of chemicals continues to grow worldwide, so the World Health Organization has called for urgent action on 10 chemicals and substances such as asbestos that pose a threat to public health.
In a new leaflet, the World Health Organization said the most efficient way to eliminate asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma is to stop the use of all types of asbestos.
Exposure to asbestos causes serious respiratory diseases including lung cancer, mesothelioma, cancer of the larynx and ovary, and asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs. Approximately 107,000 people died of asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis from workplace exposure in 2004, world health officials said.
People are exposed to asbestos through breathing microscopic fibres in workplaces that use asbestos materials and from airborne fibers in the vicinity of factories that manufacture asbestos products.
Through much of the 20th century, asbestos was used in thousands of products such as roofing shingles, water supply pipes, plastic fillers as well as clutches, brake linings and gaskets for motor vehicles. In recent decades, the use of asbestos has declined in many countries, and more than 40 countries have banned the use of all forms of asbestos. But chrysotile asbestos is still widely used primarily in asbestos-cement building materials.
Some countries have increased their production or use of chrysotile asbestos in recent years. Canada is a leading exported of chrysotile asbestos. The largest users are developing countries. The use of asbestos is restricted in the United States, but not banned.
Currently about 125 million people worldwide are exposed to asbestos in the workplace, the World Health Organization estimates.
To eliminate asbestos, the WHO offered four recommendations:
• Use less toxic substitute materials for asbestos;
• Develop economic incentives to encourage replacement of asbestos;
• Prevent exposure to asbestos during asbestos removal projects;
• Improve early diagnosis and treatment for asbestos-related diseases.
Other chemicals on the WHO’s 10 Most Unwanted list include air pollution, arsenic, benzene, cadmium, dioxins and dioxin-like substances, lead, mercury, highly hazardous pesticides.
