Global Asbestos Awareness Week 1 - 7 April: 7 facts for 7 days

As part of its Global Asbestos Awareness Week campaign, the ADAO (link on the right under "Find Out More...") has published a series of facts about asbestos, one per day for the whole week, as well daily articles by experts in the field and people with diseases caused by exposure to asbestos.  

Below is the complete set of facts.  You can read the articles by clicking HERE 

Fact 1:  Asbestos is a known carginogen i.e it causes cancer. There is NO safe level of asbestos exposure.

Fact 2: 55 countries have banned asbestos including the UK, but the US and Canada have not.  In 2012 alone, the US imported over 1,000 tons of asbestos.

Fact 3:  Asbestos fibres can cause asbestos, lung and gastrointestinal cancers, and an aggressive cancer called mesothelioma.  The average life expectancy of a mesothelioma patient is 6-12 months.

Fact 4:  Asbestos-caused diseases have a 10-50 year latency period from initial exposure to development of disease.

Fact 5:  The World Health Organisation estimates that 107,000 workers die annually from exposure to asbestos.

Fact 6:  Chrysotile asbestos accounts for nearly 95% of all asbestos mined and exported today.  In 2012, the top four asbestos producing countries were Russia, China, Brazil and Kazakhstan.

Fact 7:  Asbestos fibres can be nearly 700 times smaller than human hair and are odourless, tasteless indestructible fibres that can remain in the air for seconds


Thank you Linda Reinstein and the ADAO for your stirling and effective efforts to raise awareness about the risks of asbestos exposure and to secure a worldwide ban on this lethal material. Although this is the last day of Asbestos Awareness Week 2013, by spreading the word you have helped save countless lives in the future and spared many families and friends the agony of watching helplessly as a loved one fights the diseases caused by exposure to asbestos.