News Archive

After the Croatian Government ordered the asbestos-laden Italian ferry – the Moby Drea – to leave Croatia, little was heard about the ship’s whereabouts. According to the article below, the vessel was towed to Italian waters sometime around September 2 by the tug Protug 75; later it was reported to be moving haphazardly off the coast of Sicily. It seems, the author suggested, that the “Italian authorities, at least for now, have not allowed it to enter Crotone or anchor in front of it.” See: UKLETI MOBY DREA. Doznajemo: 'Brod s azbestom' vec danima pluta ispred Italije! [HUNTING THE MOBY DREA. We learn: ‘Asbestos ship’ has been floating off Italy for days!].

The Polluter Should Pay!

Sep 15, 2025

In a September 12, 2025 press release, the Belgian Association of Asbestos Victims (ABEVA) called for the adoption of a cohesive asbestos eradication strategy in Wallonia and Brussels, similar to the one in Flanders, in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. Citing the “Polluter Pays Principle,” ABEVA said that companies which caused the contamination through the production, sale and distribution of asbestos-containing products, should be held liable for the damage done by their actions. See: L'association des victimes de l'amiante réclame un plan global en Wallonie et à Bruxelles [The Association of Asbestos Victims Calls for a Comprehensive Plan in Wallonia and Brussels].

Mesothelioma Research: Update

Sep 15, 2025

Research on the development of drugs for the treatment of mesothelioma has been fuelled by private donations to the “Mesothelioma Treatment Promotion Fund.” Supporters of this charity include patients, doctors, lawyers; many from the region where the connection between environmental asbestos exposures and asbestos cancers was first identified in Japan: Hyogo Prefecture. Specialists at Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya City, treat many mesothelioma patients every year. See [subscription site]: アスベスト公害発覚20年　中皮腫治療推進基金　治療薬開発へ助成開始　「希望がほしい」患者たちの願い [20 years since asbestos pollution was discovered: Mesothelioma Treatment Promotion Fund begins subsidizing drug development; patients express “hope”].

Asbestos Exposure in the Navy

Sep 15, 2025

On September 12, 2025, news was broadcast that the Court of Bari, Italy had issued a victim’s verdict over a case brought on behalf of a former naval officer who contracted pulmonary asbestosis and pleural thickening. After a protracted judicial battle, the Bari Judge acknowledged the causal link between the claimant’s military exposure to asbestos and the diseases he now suffers from, and ordered the Ministries of Defense and the Interior to pay compensation of €60,000 (US$70,300) and a monthly pension of €2,000 (US$2,340). See: Bari, ex maresciallo della Marina ottiene giustizia: condannati i Ministeri della Difesa e dell’Interno per esposizione ad amianto [Bari, former Navy marshal gets justice: the Ministries of Defense and the Interior held responsible for [his] exposure to asbestos].

Asbestos Alert in Queensland

Sep 15, 2025

As a result of information provided by the Australian Border Force, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland notified local businesses about the presence on their premises of asbestos-containing fire rated board (FRB) used within fire doors. The FRB was imported from China and sold to a Queensland company: Firemex Pty Ltd. which is working with the authorities to identify customers who purchased affected products. Simultaneously, decontamination work was carried out at the headquarters of Firemex Pty Ltd. in Salisbury, Queensland. See: Workplace Health and Safety Queensland media statement.

Free Asbestos Health Screening

Sep 15, 2025

On September 20 & 21, 2025, 300 people classed as being at high-risk of contracting an asbestos-related disease will be offered free medical examinations in Yangsan Pusan National University Hospital as part of a healthcare program run by Busan City in collaboration with the Asbestos Environmental Health Center. To be eligible to take part in this screening program, people will need to have worked in the asbestos industry, resided near asbestos factories and/or steel mills or lived in areas with a high density of asbestos-cement roofing for a qualifying period of time. See: 부산 남구, 석면 노출 의심 주민 무료 건강검진 받으세요 [Busan Nam-gu, residents suspected of being exposed to asbestos get a free health checkup].

Moby Drea Update

Sep 12, 2025

It was reported on September 9, 2025 that the asbestos-laden Italian ferry the Moby Drea, whose arrival at a Croatian shipyard this summer had caused nationwide outrage, was now in the process of being towed to Crotone, Italy by the Greek tug Protug 75. Considering the huge media attention this cause célèbre had attracted, it is curious that there has been hardly any news circulated about the ship’s ignominious departure. See: Moby ferry Drea towed to Calabria amid asbestos controversy.

Making the Polluter Pay

Sep 12, 2025

During a TV interview on September 7, 2025, Belgian politician Valerie-Anne Van Peel, the leader of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), called for the asbestos conglomerate Eternit, now part of the Etex group, to pay one billion+ euros to decontaminate the Flemish built environment. According to regional sources, Eternit asbestos-cement products accounted for 65% of all that material used in Flanders. Experts say that the asbestos eradication of Flanders could cost “between 500 million and 3 billion euros.” See: Amiante: la présidente de la N-VA veut qu’Eternit paie un milliard d’euros à la Flandre [Asbestos: N-VA president wants Eternit to pay one billion euros to Flanders].

Asbestos Waste in Beirut

Sep 12, 2025

The health hazard posed by the long-term storage of 150,000 tons of asbestos-contaminated waste in the Karantina area of Beirut was the subject of a written question submitted to the Parliament of Lebanon by MPs Melhem Khalaf and Najat Saliba. The presence of this toxic material was, they said, “a direct threat to residents of Karantina and surrounding neighborhoods.” The government was asked what measures were being taken to deal with this situation and where funding for the resolution of this problem would be sourced. Free health screening for at-risk residents was proposed. See: MPs warn of ‘ticking time bomb’ as 150,000 tons of asbestos waste sit in Beirut.

Victory for Shipyard Victim

Sep 12, 2025

A landmark ruling in the Gorizia Court in the northeast of Italy ordered Fincantieri S.p.A., an Italian shipbuilding company, to pay compensation of one million euros (US$1.17m) for the mesothelioma death of a welder from the Monfalcone shipyard. During his employment, the deceased had been routinely exposed to asbestos. According to medical reports, there was a direct causal link between the occupational asbestos exposure and the cancer which caused his death. See: Strage silenziosa dell’amianto: il Tribunale di Gorizia riconosce il nesso con il mesothelioma [Silent asbestos massacre: the Court of Gorizia recognizes the link with mesothelioma].

Call for Global Asbestos Ban

Sep 12, 2025

The stunning commentary, cited below, appeared in the September 4, 2025 online version of The Lancet. The four authors included eminent medical experts from New South Wales, Australia. Reviewing current developments, including the threat by Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency to roll back US asbestos protections, they concluded: “there is no safe level of [exposure to] asbestos, whether chrysotile or amphibole, and global bans remain the only solution to this ongoing devastating occupational health tragedy.” See: Chrysotile asbestos—the deadly consequences of a retreat from national bans.

Cause and Effect

Sep 12, 2025

A thought-provoking and comprehensive piece by journalism professor Solano Nascimento, juxtaposing deadly political ploys with the human consequences they caused, put into stark relief the actions taken by Eternit SA (Brazil’s sole remaining asbestos conglomerate), the Supreme Court, and Goiás State Governor Ronaldo Caiado to postpone the closure of the chrysotile asbestos mine in Minaçu, Goiás. As endless legal and judicial wrangling continued, victims of asbestos-related diseases in Goiás – most of whom had worked at the mine – now struggled for every breath. See [subscription site]: Questões venenosas. Sociedade para a morte [Poisonous Issues. A Society for Death].

Early Retirement for Asbestos Workers?

Sep 9, 2025

Federal deputies in the lower house of Brazil’s National Congress – the Chamber of Deputies – are actively considering plans to lower the age of retirement for people employed in high-risk occupations, including those who mined, processed or handled raw asbestos in mining and also in downstream industries, such as the manufacture of automotive and/or asbestos-cement products, under provisions of Bill (PLP) 42/2023. Depending on the severity of the occupational exposure, applications for early retirement after 15-25 years of service could be granted. See: Aposentadoria especial: a idade mínima vai mudar [Special retirement: the minimum age will change].

Asbestos Alert for Home Renovators

Sep 9, 2025

Official mesothelioma data for 2024 recently released in Australia highlighted the hazard posed by asbestos exposures which occurred during DIY renovations. According to the statistics, 51% of people with non-occupational asbestos exposure “had possible or probable exposure to asbestos when undertaking major home renovations.” Because of the massive use of asbestos throughout Australia post WW II and the popularity of DIY home renovations, complacency was not a viable option, said Melissa Treby, Deputy Chair of Cancer Councils Occupational and Environmental Cancer Committee. See: DIY Warning: New Cancer Data Alerts Renovators.

Deadly Asbestos Legacy

Sep 9, 2025

The article cited below by Richard Blunt was a timely reminder of the ongoing hazard posed by deteriorating asbestos material which remains in many public buildings throughout the UK. During her medical training, the author’s mother had worked as a junior doctor at an NHS hospital in Birmingham; asbestos contamination was routine during extensive building works which were carried out on site between 1984 and 1988. Thirty years later, she was diagnosed with mesothelioma. In 2025, asbestos continues to pose a serious health risk to people who use public buildings including hospitals and schools. Things could, Blunt said, be very different, if the political will existed to embrace the challenge and act accordingly. See: Asbestos: the public’s right to know.

Victory in Test Case!

Sep 9, 2025

Last week, a successful verdict was achieved in a test case brought before Judge Chiara Zompì in a lower court in Bologna. The court’s verdict validated the right of a claimant with indirect workplace exposure to asbestos to be compensated. The 70+ year old plaintiff in this case had worked as an administrative assistant from 1964 until 1973 in a sugar refinery where asbestos trays were used for processing sugar. She did not work with asbestos but her office was in a building adjacent to the production facility which she routinely visited to collect data. She now has pleural mesothelioma. See: Amianto, la svolta: impiegata colpita da mesotelioma vince causa pilota [Asbestos, the turning point: employee affected by mesothelioma wins pilot lawsuit].

Mesothelioma Research: Update

Sep 9, 2025

Working independently, US researchers in Hawaii and Maryland simultaneously reported findings regarding “a new variant of mesothelioma that may lead to more successful treatments” in papers published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. According to Dr. Michele Carbone at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center: “This is a major step in the fight against mesothelioma, one of the most aggressive human cancers. It is also great relief to these families, who are now aware that their tumors can be treated and therefore most of them can live a normal life span.” See: Breakthrough discovery reveals treatable form of familial mesothelioma.

Asbestos in Social Housing

Sep 9, 2025

On September 8, 2025, social housing tenants in 350+ apartments managed by the Molenbeekse Woningen Housing Association in Brussels, were informed about the presence of asbestos in their apartments. To avoid disturbing the asbestos, they were warned not to damage, sand or drill walls or ceilings. The contamination was discovered during inventory audits of the association’s building stock. Public meetings are scheduled for November to explain plans for a phased schedule of renovations. Unless the asbestos is disturbed, the tenants were told, there was no health hazard for residents. See: Asbestos found in 400 Molenbeek apartments.

Victory for Campaigners?

Sep 4, 2025

The September 1, 2025 article cited below confirmed that plans were ongoing for the departure of the asbestos-laden Italian ferry the Moby Drea to be moved from Croatian territorial waters on September 2, 2025. According to journalist Zoran Kukilo, the tugboat commissioned to tow the vessel departed on schedule from Valletta, Malta and was due to arrive in Split on September 1. See: ‘Moby Drea’ sutra stvarno napušta Split? Danas stiže tegljač s Malte, u ‘Brodosplitu‘ ogorčeni: ‘Pobijedio je populizam’ [‘Moby Drea’ really leaving Split tomorrow? A tugboat from Malta arrives today, ‘Brodosplit’ is outraged: ‘Populism has won’].

Victory in Tokyo!

Sep 4, 2025

Claims brought against 7 construction companies by 400 plaintiffs were settled in early August 2025 at the Tokyo High Court for a total of 5.2 billion yen (US$35m). The litigants had been exposed to asbestos at various construction sites as a result of which they developed asbestos-related diseases. This is believed to be the largest Japanese settlement in a construction asbestos lawsuit against multiple manufacturers. It was suggested that this agreement would pave the way for many similar settlements. See: 建設アスベスト訴訟　東京高裁で和解成立、建材7社が400人に52億円賠償 [Construction asbestos lawsuit settled at Tokyo High Court, 7 building materials companies compensate 400 people with 5.2 billion yen].

Import of Contaminated Fire Doors

Sep 4, 2025

An exposé published on September 2, 2025 revealed that imported fire doors containing asbestos were illegally being sold in New Zealand. The toxic products were imported from China by the PDS company, New Zealand’s largest fire door manufacturer. This discovery was made by WorkSafe on June 30 as a result of onsite inspections. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment was notified immediately; PDS issued a public notice and began to contact affected customers. See: Asbestos detection in fire doors sparks nationwide safety response.

Ecological Disaster or Resource?

Sep 4, 2025

At a meeting in Sicily last week, speakers representing public and private interests considered new opportunities to develop local mineral sources in light of the blockade of Russian exports due to the country’s war on Ukraine. The mining of minerals such as kainite, potassium salt and sulphur could once again provide job opportunities if redundant and toxic Sicilian mines could be remediated. The problem at many of these sites is asbestos contamination. Local people have been waiting for decades for government action to decontaminate these industrial areas. See: Lo stop ai sali di potassio dalla Russia rilancia le vecchie miniere siciliane. Ma prima serve bonificarle dall’amianto [The ban on potash from Russia is reviving old Sicilian mines. But first, they need to be cleared of asbestos].

Program for Asbestos Eradication

Sep 4, 2025

High profile members of the Ugandan Government – including Dr Didacus Namanya – and eminent medical experts attended the launch of the “NO Asbestos Campaign” at a press conference at the Hotel Africana in the country’s capital, on August 27, 2025. Also present were representatives from roofing manufacturing companies, such as the CEO from MMI Steel Heramb Kumthekar, which are partnering with the Government in an ambitious asbestos removal and replacement program. See: Uganda govt. partners with private sector to kick out asbestos roofs.

Mesothelioma Data: Update

Sep 4, 2025

Recent mesothelioma data from the Emilia Romagna region in northern Italy revealed that in 2023 and 2024, 151 and 137 new cases of mesothelioma were reported, respectively. The highest regional incidence – for both men and women – of this cancer, which is associated with exposure to asbestos, was found in Reggio Emilia, Piacenza, Parma, and Ravenna. Between 2019 and 2023, there were more deaths from mesothelioma in Emilia Romagna than from road traffic accidents. See: COR-RENAM ER: Casi di Mesotelioma in Emilia Romagna – Report aggiornato al 30 giugno 2025 [COR-RENAM ER: Mesothelioma Cases in Emilia Romagna – Report updated to June 30, 2025].

Pioneering Medical Workshop

Sep 1, 2025

A medical training workshop on asbestos-related diseases was held last week in the Cambodian capital, under the auspices of the Cambodian Government and in collaboration with national and international partners. The sessions were opened by Health Minister Chheang Ra on August 27 at the Marriott Phnom Penh Hotel. During his remarks, the Minister called for an end “to the use of asbestos and silica, citing their severe health risks, which includes cancer.” Acknowledging the continued support of the Australian government, he thanked all the medical professionals who traveled to the capital to share their expertise with Cambodian colleagues. See: [Health Minister Chheang] Ra urges stronger action to stop asbestos and silica use.