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A commentary by a concerned New Zealand parent regarding the ongoing scandal over asbestos-contaminated sand exported from China for sensory play and craft activities by young children raised several interesting points. According to historian, researcher and advocate Georgie Craw: “our economy is geared towards producing and selling products, rather than safeguarding people and the environment – let alone nurturing us. It also fuels consumerism over meaningful experiences and connections.” She’s not wrong. See: Asbestos in play sand tells us that our economy is valuing the wrong things.

The article cited below, which was uploaded on November 14, 2025, was an information advisory on the health hazard posed by human exposures to asbestos written by Dr Ir. Bambang, Ministry of Health, Indonesia. Having reviewed “the dangers of asbestos, current facts in Indonesia, and the importance of strengthening national policies to protect future generations from the risks of asbestos exposure,” the author concluded that it was time for all Indonesians to coordinate efforts to make the country asbestos-free by 2035. See: It’s Time for Indonesia to Breathe Clean Air Without Asbestos: Ending the Invisible Danger.

On November 28, 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services announced that it was withdrawing a proposal by the Biden Administration to allow “further consideration and assessment prior to issuing final regulations to establish and require standardized testing methods for detecting and identifying asbestos in talc-containing cosmetic products pursuant to the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022.” See: Testing Methods for Detecting and Identifying Asbestos in Talc-Containing Cosmetic Products; Withdrawal.

The lack of mandatory asbestos audits as a precursor to selling a property in Luxembourg has resulted in heartache and financial loss for Chirantan Banerjee and his family. The discovery of asbestos contamination in the €1 million home they recently bought in the Moselle valley turned a dream home into a nightmare purchase. Neither the sellers not the estate agent had mentioned the presence of asbestos-containing cladding. As the house was bought “as is,” the purchaser was repeatedly told he had no recourse for compensation. See: Family thought they had bought their forever home, until they found asbestos.

On November 26, 2025, the Nagano General Vehicle Center of the JR East Japan railway company revealed that scrap metal it had sold this summer taken from 12 trains manufactured in 1981 & 1982 was contaminated with asbestos. See: 石綿除去しないまま電車を解体　鉄屑として売却「石綿ない車両データで契約書作成が原因」185系の暖房装置「周辺住民や環境に影響なし」長野・JR東日本 [JR East dismantles trains without removing asbestos, sells them as scrap metal. “Contracts were written based on asbestos-free vehicle data.” 185 series heating equipment “has no impact on surrounding residents or the environment”].

Uralasbest, Russia’s second largest asbestos conglomerate, continues to diversify its product range in light of shrinking Russian and global markets for the chrysotile asbestos – also known as “mountain flax” – produced by the Uralabest mine. In order to circumvent consumers’ fears about toxic exposures to asbestos, Uralasbest began recycling the mine tailings and incorporating them into “environmentally friendly insulation and building products” such as those sold under Uralasbest’s “trusted” Ecover and Versta brands. See: Комбинат по добыче и переработке хризотил-асбеста начинает новый этап диверсификации [Chrysotile Asbestos Mining and Processing Plant Begins a New Stage of Diversification].

On November 24, 2025 it was announced that a legal action had been initiated against the Home Secretary over the asbestos-related death of MP Alice Mahon. Ms. Mahon had been exposed to asbestos at Northowram Hospital where she worked as a nurse between 1959 and 1966 and again in the 1970s and to asbestos-containing material in Parliament during her tenure as the MP for Halifax from 1987 to 2005. She died of mesothelioma, the signature cancer associated with asbestos exposure, on December 25, 2022, aged 85. Ms. Mahon was survived by two sons and five grandchildren, on whose behalf the claim was being brought. See: Bradford-born former MP now at centre of high court cancer claim.

Last month, the Court of Palermo issued the final verdict on a case brought by the family of a helicopter pilot from the Italian Air Force who died aged 60 from renal cancer caused by asbestos exposure experienced during his military service. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) was ordered to pay compensation of €900,000 (US$1.04m) for having failed to “guarantee the standards of prevention and protection required” to keep the deceased safe from workplace asbestos exposures. See: Ali di amianto in aeronautica – tribunale di Palerma condanna la difesa per morte di un elicotterista – 900mila euro ai familiari [Asbestos wings in aviation – Palermo court condemns defense in helicopter pilot’s death – €900,000 to family].

There is, said the author of the article cited below, a widespread lack of awareness about the asbestos hazard in Togo. According to an independent 2024 study, 87.5% of Togolese people had “never heard of this highly carcinogenic mineral…” Many buildings in the country still contain asbestos despite the December 3, 1997 Presidential Decree which prohibited “the use of asbestos-containing materials in public works and buildings.” The use of asbestos and the health and economic consequences of this use remain “largely under-documented” in sub-Saharan Africa. See: L’amiante au Togo, un risque majeur encore largement méconnu [Asbestos in Togo: A Major Risk Still Largely Unrecognized].

In the aftermath of the latest ceasefire, Palestinians returned to the sites where their homes had once been to find destruction and devastation. The dangers they currently face are colossal including the air they breathe which is, according to UN data, likely to be contaminated with asbestos. The decimation of Gaza’s built environment created 60 million tons of rubble, much of which contained asbestos “broken into fine dust that lingers in the air.” Environmental scientist Dr. Abdul Fattah Abdul Rabbo warned Gazans: “The danger is suspended in the air. Without protective gear, the risk is far higher than people realize.” See: “Asbestos”… Silent Killer in Gaza’s Rubble.

Research undertaken by personnel from Austria’s Centre for Natural Disaster Prevention, which was reported by the Greek media, highlighted the increased asbestos risk posed by climate change such as the damage caused by larger than usual hailstones which are increasingly common. When these larger projectiles crash into asbestos-cement roofs at a speed of 140 km/h the tiles “release much larger amounts of asbestos fibers than previously thought… concentrations of up to 200,000 fibers per cubic meter” were found. See: Ο κίνδυνος από τον αμίαντο λόγω ζημιών από χαλάζι μεγαλύτερος από ποτέ [The risk from asbestos due to hail damage is greater than ever].

Data released in November 2025 by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) noted that 20% of the 11,000 deaths caused by occupational lung diseases had been the result of workplace asbestos exposures. According to the latest HSE asbestos mortality data, reported in July, 2025, there are about 5,000 deaths every year in the UK from asbestos-related diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. See: HSE publishes annual workplace health and safety statistics.

Following hot on the heels of the discovery of asbestos in colored sand products used by children in Australia and New Zealand, came news that asbestos has been found in lift brake pads used across Australia by the energy company Goldwind Australia, a subsidiary of Chinese firm Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology Co. Ltd. The brake pads were sourced from 3S Industry, a major Chinese-based supplier to Australia. According to a Goldwind spokesperson: “A comprehensive material and air testing program is underway to check for asbestos in other spare brake pads and in wind turbines.” See: Asbestos found in wind farm lift brake pads prompts safety response.

On November 19, 2025, a coalition of concerned parents, teachers and staff filed a complaint over the asbestos contamination of 12 Marseille schools which constituted, they alleged, a “deliberate endangerment of the lives of others.” The petitioners were supported by 7 trade unions and 3 asbestos victims’ associations. It is believed that 80+% of French schools still contain asbestos, a substance banned in 1997. See: France/Amiante: plus de 50 personnes et syndicats portent plainte à Marseille [France/Asbestos: more than 50 people and unions file a complaint in Marseille].

The illegal dumping of asbestos-containing building rubble and other construction waste was reported by the Volga Interregional Environmental Prosecutor's Office, Russia. The fly-tipping took place in the Alekseevsky ravine on the territory of the Kumysnaya Polyana nature preserve. The details of the case were under consideration by the investigating authority as per the provisions of Article 262 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. See: Aсбест, бетон, гипс, арматура: на «Кумысной поляне» устроили свалку, ущерб превысил 86 миллионов [Asbestos, concrete, gypsum, rebar: [illegal] landfill at Kumysnaya Polyana, the damage exceeded 86 million].

Last week, officials from New Zealand’s Ministry of Education told schools that it was their responsibility to remediate premises where asbestos-contaminated sand had been used. Taking exception to this position the President of the NZEI Te Riu Roa – the “most powerful education union” in New Zealand – Ripeka Lessels said: “Not only is this a question of budget deficits, more importantly, it may divert funding away from essential supports to learning.” Principal Lynda Stuart of May Road School agreed: “The ministry should pay for remediation. Instead, they are leaving us in the lurch and making us deal with it all.” See: Union calls for government to cover costs of removing asbestos-tainted sand from schools.

For decades, the human costs of the asbestos industry’s profits were paid for by workers, family members, local people and communities that had been exposed to carcinogenic fibers liberated by mining, transporting and manufacturing processes. The failure of international agencies to take timely action on the asbestos hazard was due, in some part, to their woeful underestimation of global asbestos mortality. Finally, in 2017 a paper was published which suggested that cumulative annual global asbestos mortality far exceeded previous estimates and could surpass 300,000. The lead author of the 2017 paper was Professor Jukka Takala; details of a presentation he gave last month are recounted in this article including his insightful statement: “Cancer is a disease – Occupational cancer is an administrative decision.” [Read full article]

In the last fortnight a huge furore has been building over news that asbestos contamination had been found in children’s play sand exported from China to Australia and New Zealand. Shortly after the news about the deadly sand broke in Australia, it was reported that asbestos had been found in lift brake pads used across the country by the Chinese-owned energy company Goldwind Australia. In recent years, asbestos alerts for contaminated Chinese exports were issued in multiple countries. Scientific experts have called on the Chinese Government to prohibit the use of all asbestos-containing material. Should the authorities choose to heed their advice it would not only save countless lives at home but would reassure potential importers that products made in China need not carry cancer warning labels. [Read full article]

In less than a week, news that asbestos had been found in colored sand products being used by pre-school and primary school children in Australia reverberated around the world. This was Australia’s second public health asbestos crisis in two years and the media coverage this time round was even more incendiary than it had been in 2024. On November 12, 2025 authorities in Australia and New Zealand confirmed that precautionary measures would be taken following the announcement by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission that several sand-based products “may contain tremolite asbestos.” A preliminary UK investigation found that one of the products recalled in Australia, currently listed as “unavailable,” had been sold on Amazon UK. [Read full article]

For decades The Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI), a Global Union Federation representing 12 million workers in 117 countries, has been at the forefront of the global campaign to protect workers from toxic asbestos exposures. On November 10, 2025, it issued a position paper recommitting itself to the ban of all asbestos-containing materials. In the new document, the BWI called on the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a member of the World Bank Group and “the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets” – to “prohibit all investments in asbestos, removing its exemption for bonded asbestos materials.”(The following link is to a permitted copy of the BWI paper.) [Read full article]

The furore that had been building since mid-October over controversial plans by President Trump to demolish part of the White House to build a mega-ballroom exploded last weekend with almost universal negative media coverage. It was not only the speed of the demolition of the East Wing but also the lack of transparency over planning, safety protocols and private donors that were driving public outrage with more than half the Americans polled disapproving of the project. Many critics of Trump’s latest “vanity project” expressed concern about the apparent lack of health and safety protocols to deal with asbestos material which was almost certainly present in the structure. [Read full article]

In the run-up to November meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) in South Korea, grassroots activists held “The Ban Asbestos from the Asia-Pacific Region” protest in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul on October 21, 2025. The event was organized by the Asian Citizens' Center for Environmental Health (Eco-Health) and supported by a variety of groups active on environmental and health issues. Commenting on the demonstration, Director of Eco-Health Choi Ye-yong said: “The continued use of asbestos in Asia is contrary not just to APEC’s core objectives but also to the human rights of every individual…. It is time for APEC and other regional bodies to do the right thing and mandate a regional ban on the use of asbestos.” [Read full article]

The news that the first UK toxic talc litigation by cancer sufferers was in the pipeline had been circulating for a couple of years. On October 16, 2025 this was confirmed when a class action began at the High Court in London on behalf of 3,000 plaintiffs who believed their diseases were caused by the use of asbestos-contaminated baby powder produced by the American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J). Although news of the class action was reported in North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, the country with the most intense interest in the case seemed to be Russia, the world’s largest asbestos producer. Interested? Read on. [Read full article]

While much has been written about the deadly health consequences of the commercial exploitation of asbestos, the environmental damage done by asbestos polluters has, to some extent, remained unexplored. The mountains of carcinogenic waste and toxic debris left behind by asbestos profiteers continues to endanger the health of local people long after mining and manufacturing operations ceased. Photographs and text in this article describe multiple examples of the deadly contamination left by asbestos producers and manufacturers in North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. [Read full article]

The article which can be accessed at the link provided was written by Julian Branch, an outspoken critic of Canada’s failure to deal with the deadly legacy posed by the continued use of deteriorating asbestos-containing pipes to deliver water. The head-in-the-sand approach adopted by the authorities and public utility companies to the threat posed by ingested asbestos in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon and British Columbia seems to be validated by the lack of action taken by Health & Welfare Canada – now Health Canada (HC) – and the federal government. Branch detailed decades of missed opportunities and concluded with, considering the neglect shown to date, a possibly over-optimistic hope that a current reassessment of the situation by HC might bring improvements. [Read full article]

Recent developments in East and Southeast Asia have highlighted the continued importance of bilateral and multinational collaborations in the struggle to address national asbestos legacies. The exchange of information and the sharing of expertise remain essential tools in neutralizing the efforts of industry lobbyists who continue to actively promote the interests of asbestos stakeholders at national, regional and international forums. In the post-Covid era, there has been a resurgence of multinational collaborations as illustrated by developments in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Seoul, Korea; and Jakarta, Indonesia which are discussed in this article. [Read full article]

In her review of “Bad Dust, A History of the Asbestos Disaster,” published this month by Repeater Books, Laurie Kazan-Allen explained that the genesis for this work had been the mesothelioma death of Albert Popple, the granddad of author Tom White. As many other talented people before him had done, White harnessed his grief “to create a work of art that spoke not only of personal traumas but universal truths.” “Bad Dust is,” the reviewer explained “a well-written book which ponders important subjects.” This text will be of interest to people interested in the history of the asbestos tragedy as well as many more readers trying to grapple with wider 21st century issues such as the unending struggle for a sustainable future, corporate accountability and environmental justice. [Read full article]

In recent weeks, international groups have submitted key evidence to the Central Jakarta District Court which is hearing a case brought by asbestos vested interests, represented by the FICMA trade association, against individuals and groups that petitioned the Supreme Court for its endorsement of measures imposing mandatory warning labels on asbestos-cement roofing products. After the Supreme Court upheld this petition (2024), FICMA launched a ferocious legal attack on the petitioners claiming massive financial damages. This letter deconstructs one of FICMA’s principle arguments, namely that failure by the UN to list chrysotile (white) asbestos as a hazardous material supported industry propaganda that exposure to asbestos was “harmless.” [Read full article]

The high-profile participation of ministers and institutions from the Cambodian Government in recent activities in Phnom Penh designed to raise asbestos awareness and implement a transition to asbestos-free technology reconfirmed the Government’s commitment to ending asbestos use and building medical capacity to diagnose and treat citizens injured by toxic exposures. Opening the three-day conference: Improving Diagnosis and Response to Occupational Cancers: Asbestos and Dust Related Diseases Cambodian Health Minister His Excellency Professor Chheang Ra called for the country to prioritize inter-ministerial collaboration to establish frameworks restricting toxic imports and phase-out asbestos consumption. [Read full article]

The timely article by Professor Arthur Frank is a damning indictment of global failures to engage with the threat posed by the continued presence and use of deteriorating asbestos-containing products throughout national infrastructures. Such toxic substances contaminate our homes, schools, hospitals, vehicles, water systems and environment. Almost half the text of this new feature, dealt with the health hazard posed by the use of asbestos pipes to deliver water. The concluding words of this commentary were chilling: “it is alarming that increasing amounts of exposure and increasing findings of ingestion-related asbestos disease continue to be noted in the scientific literature, with little being done to either educate the public or to educate physicians about these risks.” [Read full article]

A new medical scheme was launched by Liz Darlison, from Mesothelioma UK, and Kim Brislane, from Australia’s Asbestos Dust Diseases Research Institute (ADDRI) at an August 27, 2025 meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The initiative is a collaboration of Mesothelioma UK, ADDRI and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS). Welcoming news of the positive reception for the pioneering program, IBAS Coordinator Laurie Kazan-Allen said: “Asbestos-related diseases are notoriously difficult to diagnose. Experience has shown that building medical capacity of nursing staff can make a huge impact on the experiences of patients and family members.” [Read full article]

A recent analysis of global asbestos trade figures for 2023 revealed startling developments in four former Soviet Union Central Asian countries. While the world’s two biggest asbestos producers Russia and Kazakhstan consumed a mere 0.76 and 0.72 kilograms/kg per person that year, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan used a staggering 3.4 kg and 2.34 kg per capita and Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan 1.6 kg and 1.57 kg. According to an academic paper by scientists from the Kyrgyz Republic and Italy (2024), awareness of the asbestos hazard and asbestos monitoring capacity in all four countries are extremely low. [Read full article]

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Demonstration in Woluwe Park, Brussels, 2006

Under cloudy skies, members of Belgian and French Asbestos Victims' Associations from Dunkirk and Bourgogne marched side-by-side in the third annual demonstration organized by ABEVA, the Belgian Association of Asbestos Victims. Erik Jonckheere, ABEVA's Co-chairman, condemned the government which still refuses to recognize the plight of the asbestos injured.

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