Asbestos bans that swept across the world during the latter half of the twentieth century changed the way the world consumes the dangerous mineral - but perhaps not for the best. Over the past several decades many developed nations have banned asbestos outright, and those that haven’t or are unable to - like the United States - have placed heavy restrictions on its use. The motivator for these types of actions is asbestos’s toxicity, but the bans and regulations may actually have helped to effect an increase in asbestos related diseases.

The Lancet, a British medical journal, recently published an article which touches on the growing asbestos related disease problems in developing nations. The article claims: “India’s surging consumption of asbestos, the industry’s hefty political and economic clout, and the country’s poor record of worker protection… [suggest that] a sizeable burden of asbestos-related disease is inevitable… [the health consequences] will be felt into the next century.”

Asbestos products have recently become more readily available to developing nations due to the stranglehold placed on the market by modern bans and regulations upheld in wealthier countries. What’s left of the asbestos mining industry, which consists of several large operations in Brazil, Russia, and perhaps most surprisingly Canada, are all too happy to ship a variety of asbestos products at discounted rates to Newly Industrialized Countries (NIC) like India. The skyrocketing Indian asbestos market in concert with their lack of asbestos safe handling restrictions could spell trouble over the next several decades.

Products that contain asbestos cause mesothelioma, a cancer affecting the tissue lining of the body’s organs, as well as asbestosis, lung cancer and more. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes that asbestos related diseases may claim as many as 90,000 lives every year. Diseases that are caused by asbestos can take 20 to 50 years to fully develop from the time of exposure, meaning that the repercussions of a changing asbestos world market will not be felt immediately.

The problem is exacerbated by a lack of asbestos education in developing nations and NICs. According to a 2007 article in The Tribune, a UK online magazine, awareness of asbestos’s toxicity in India is staggeringly low. The article claims that children in India play in and around asbestos laced cement products, that asbestos is allegedly used in some rice bleaching processes, and that most Indian consumers do not believe the material is toxic.

According to The Lancet, Arthur Frank, MD, PhD, the Chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, stated: “We can expect a lot more death and disease [in India]. There is no champion for the working person, or for the elimination or reduction in the use of asbestos that I can see in the central Indian Government.”

Hundreds of people pursued lawsuits against New York City following the 9/11 attacks and subsequent relief operations due to the presence of toxic rubble. More recently, there has been some similar concerns regarding the possibility of toxic conditions in Haiti following the earthquakes earlier this year.

Of all the organizations in the area the United States Army is perhaps the best equipped to perform the necessary tests, and after soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division deployed in the area complained of sore throats and other respiratory ailments, investigations were quickly made.

The possible presence of asbestos fibers in the cement, pipes, tiles, shingles and other raw materials that were brought asunder was one of the primary concerns. Asbestos has been shown to cause a wide variety of illnesses including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, an aggressive and invariably terminal cancer of the soft tissue around the lungs.

Experience in the United States with large urban disasters such as the 9/11 attacks have demonstrated the vast after effects that asbestos can have on a disaster area. Thousands of people were unknowingly subjected to asbestos contaminated air, water and more after 9/11 - both on and off of official work-sites. The ramifications weren’t overlooked, either. With hundreds of new cancer diagnoses resulting from exposure at and around ground zero, a judge involved in the subsequent lawsuits reportedly rejected a settlement of nearly $600 million claiming it was insufficient for the loss suffered by individuals and their families.

In Haiti, after the analysis of soil, water and air samples taken from the areas U.S. troops are working, it appears that asbestos is not a significant threat.

“We collected air samples from 31 locations to see if our guys were potentially breathing anything bad,” said the public health officer in charge of the operation, “…everything we have been able to analyze so far has not presented a risk that is expected to be long-term, short-term or one we can’t mitigate.”

The results of asbestos testing in Haiti are certainly a relief, but they’re not actually very surprising. While many developed nations have a troubling history with adamant asbestos use, developing nations rarely fabricate the substance themselves and often import it if they use it at all. Much of this phenomena could be due to the massive asbestos demand increase in the United States and European countries during World War II that resulted from a rapid rise of military production. After the war, much of the swollen asbestos industry found commercial outlets for their products.

Asbestos may not pose a threat in Haiti, but as it turns out both food and water have been somewhat problematic. Luckily, nothing other than curable illnesses and minor ailments have been reported yet.

A new Australian Mesothelioma Registry has been launched at the Bernie Banton Centre in Sydney. The registry aims to collect more detailed information about mesothelioma cases in Australia, and will attempt to improve the understanding of the circumstances that revolve around developing the terminal cancer. Additionally, better information about treatment responses, rate of diagnoses increase, and other useful information will be collected.

The new registry was launched by the New South Wales (NSW) Premier Kristina Keneally, the NSW Minister Assisting the Minister for Health Frank Sartor, and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Julia Gillard. Managed by a consortium of medical institutes led by the Cancer Institute of New South Wales, the new registry will work to improve the world’s understanding of mesothelioma with the help of some of the foremost experts in asbestos related illness in Australia.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive, terminal cancer directly linked with exposure to asbestos fibers. Before the ban of asbestos in Australia, the nation had the highest per capita usage of the dangerous substance. With their mesothelioma diagnoses ranging among the highest in the world, Australia is now working to increase awareness of the disease, promote research of better treatments, and tighten international restrictions on the substance’s use.

Many developed nations outlawed the use of asbestos or applied strict usage regulations towards the end of the twentieth century in response to mounting evidence of its hazardous nature. Some nations such as Canada and Russia continue its production, however, and export the dangerous material to a wide variety of developing nations such as Mexico, India and China. While limited knowledge of the disease and its diagnosis techniques in those parts of the world are likely reducing the recorded incidents of mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases, many fear that diagnoses of asbestos related illnesses are doomed to rise in nations which import the material.

The new Australian Mesothelioma Register will collect specific information about patient exposure, and hopes to contribute evidence to the international debate concerning the possibility of a complete ban.

Australia’s tragic experience with asbestos related diseases may serve to expedite asbestos bans worldwide, which could in turn dramatically reduce exposure and save countless lives. At present, as many as 100,000 new cases of mesothelioma are developed worldwide, with just around 3% of those in the United States.

“The NSW Government’s Cancer Institute has been awarded a major contract to manage and operate a national register of mesothelioma cases on behalf of the Commonwealth Government,” said Premier Kristina Keneally.

“The Cancer Institute is recognized as a national leader in the management of cancer registries and will manage the new registry with a consortium including the Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Sydney, the Asbestos Disease Research Institute and the Western Australian Cancer Registry.”

The new Australian Mesothelioma Registry will replace the existing register that has been in place for more than twenty five years. Those involved hope that the implementation of new technology will improve the efficacy of information gathering efforts and ultimately curb the destruction caused by the disease. The new registry will begin collecting information this June.

A Colorado man by the name of Michael Merit has allegedly jeopardized the health of the community around the city of Elizabeth through falsifying pre-demolition toxic substance reports. A grand jury has accused him of improperly performing air tests to determine whether the area was contaminated with asbestos fibers, as well as falsifying lab results to show that the tested environment was free of the dangerous substance.

Asbestos was used commonly through much of the 20th century in a variety of different industries for its fire and resistance as well as its remarkable insulating properties. Asbestos products in the form of pressed boards, blown wall insulation, pipe wrapping, roof tiles, flooring tiles and more are often discovered while renovating or demolishing buildings constructed before the turn of the century.

Nowadays, strict state and federally enforced restrictions and regulations apply to the safe handling and proper disposal of asbestos containing materials. Professionals who work with or around asbestos must be properly trained and certified in effectively protecting themselves and the local population against exposure to the substance through air or water contamination.

Exposure to asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma, an aggressive and fatal cancer, and several other dangerous diseases and respiratory ailments. The microscopic, hair like fibers can enter the body through accidental ingestion or inhalation, and easily slip past the body’s normal protection against foreign debris due to their unique shape. Asbestos fibers often pass through the lung or intestinal walls and settle into a protective soft tissue known as the mesothelium. Once lodged in the mesothelium, asbestos fibers cause aggravation and scarring that can result in the development of malignant tumors.

According to the grand jury, Merit lied about his experience with asbestos remediation and claimed he was properly licensed for asbestos testing in order to gain employment with a demolition company. The falsified results from his improperly conducted tests were submitted to gain the state’s permission to demolish several mobile homes in Elizabeth city. Three mobile homes were demolished before the state halted the work following a tip that the tests were improperly conducted.

Qualified Colorado officials conducted follow testing on the demolition site to assess the damage and contamination. After the demolition of just three mobile homes, enough asbestos had been exposed for the state to declare an “emergency circumstance involving the sudden discharge of a hazardous substance.”

Prosecutors from the Office of the Attorney General of Colorado will pursue the case against Michael Merit in an Ebert County district court.