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Decades after asbestos mining operations ceased in South Africa’s Limpopo Province, in the north of the country, the health of residents remains endangered by asbestos contamination of local rivers and streams. Asbestos fibers from soil in and around the derelict mines contaminate run-off water and flow into the water sources, especially after heavy rains, in at-risk areas like Mafefe, outside of Lebowakgomo township. According to Mafefe residents “the water now looks cloudy in places or carries visible particles after storms.” See: Silent Killer in the Streams: Limpopo Village Exposed to Asbestos Contamination.

The April 3, 2026 article cited below reported residents’ concerns regarding the working practices of operatives undertaking renovation work at the Przyjazni Housing Estate in Poznan, Poland. According to the report, there was a visible lack of protective clothing and equipment and little monitoring by specialist supervisors. See: Jest skrajnie niebezpieczny i rakotwórczy. Azbest w Poznaniu nie zostal poprawnie zabezpieczony? "Pyl moze rozsiewac sie po osiedlu" [It’s extremely dangerous and carcinogenic. Was asbestos in Poznan not properly secured? “Dust can spread throughout the neighborhood”].

The Swedish real estate company Signalisten announced that renovation work would be postponed on a building on Hagalundsgatan, a residential street in Solna, Stockholm, due to “an extensive discovery of asbestos.” Technical investigations and sampling carried out prior to the start of renovation work had underestimated the scale of the contamination. Asbestos removal work will be needed throughout the building. See: Signalisten avbryter delar av entreprenad på grund av asbest [Signalisten cancels parts of construction due to asbestos].

In the article cited below it was reported that chrysotile (white) asbestos stones were being sold by a “specialist alternative shop” in Lillestrøm, Noway owned by Tom Ole Holth who claimed that they promote “honesty and sincerity” despite national and EU prohibitions. When contacted by the reporter, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Environment Agency confirmed that chrysotile was a prohibited substance under EU regulation REACH Annex XVII item 28. See: Selger forbudt, kreftfremkallende stoff over disk: – Finnes ikke farlig [Selling banned, carcinogenic substance over the counter: – Not found dangerous].

In a ruling by Lord Harrower in the Outer House of the Court of Session, Scotland the Court apportioned liability for mesothelioma contracted by a 56-year old retired labourer between two former employers. MCM Building & Civil Engineering Construction Ltd was ordered to pay 0.01% of the damages while Pyramid Joinery & Construction Ltd was ordered to pay 99.908%. The claimant had been negligently exposed to asbestos by both defenders but the exposure experienced between 1999 and 2003 during employment by the second defender (Pyramid) was substantially more than that during the 1.5-day period of exposure caused by the first defender. See: Outer House splits liability for asbestos damages between two employers by nearly 99.9 to 0.1 percent ratio.

A paper published on March 28, 2026 by Danish and Norwegian researchers detailed their investigation of the use of checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) as a “diagnostic biomarker to distinguish pleural mesothelioma (PM) from non-neoplastic mesothelial cells (NNMC) in both cytology and histology specimens.” They concluded that CHK1 immunohistochemical assessment was useful in some PM cases but qualified their findings saying further research was recommended. See: Checkpoint Kinase 1 Protein (CHK1) as a Diagnostic Marker for Pleural Mesothelioma.

Last month, Malta joined the list of European nations which recalled from sale asbestos-contaminated children’s products in 2026. In mid-March, the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority alerted the public to the dangers posed by toys and similar products containing kinetic sand or decorative sand. Among the recalled products were: HTI Toys – Stretcherz Stretch Squad, Stretcherz Slammerz 4 Pack, Stretcherz Stretch Squad Toys Assorted Figures 4 Pack; Addo Play Ltd – Out to Impress Sand Art Creations, Out to Impress Creative Candles, Paw Patrol Sand Art Pictures; Paw Patrol Bumper Craft Collection; and Orb Funkee Sand Toys. See: Potentially Dangerous Toys Removed from the Market.

On March 31, 2026 Summer Lee, a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, presented a check for just under $1.1 million to officials from the Monroeville Municipal Authority, Pennsylvania. The funds, which were part of the federal Community Project Funding, were for the replacement of ~10,000 feet of asbestos-cement water pipes, the majority of which were installed in the 1980s or before. According to the article cited below, the remediation work was required to improve safety, “reduce the risk of pipe failures and address health concerns tied to deteriorating infrastructure.” See: Monroeville receives $1 million to replace aging asbestos-cement water lines.

A Rome-based consortium – called e-Geos – which secured a prestigious contract from Italy’s Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security plans to use cutting edge technology to update a national audit of asbestos-containing roofing throughout the country. According to e-Geos, “very high resolution satellite images and advanced classification techniques based on Artificial Intelligence algorithms” will allow it to update the national census of asbestos roofing on public and private buildings. See: Amianto, al via la mappatura da satellite sul territorio Italiano [Asbestos in Italy: Satellite mapping begins].

The 50-year-old National Assembly building of the South Korean government contains asbestos which, officials say, is safe under normal conditions. But in exceptional circumstances, the hazard to building users increases. One example was disruption which took place during emergency martial law in December 2024. It is suspected that vibrations caused by the take-off of a military helicopter increased airborne levels of asbestos within the building. Medical experts and campaigners are calling for the immediate commencement of phased removal of asbestos from the building. See: [단독] 오래 상주할수록 위험…전문가들 “무석면 건축물로” [오래된 국회] [Exclusive. The longer you stay, the more dangerous it is… Experts call for “asbestos-free buildings” [Old National Assembly]].

On April 1, 2026, delegates to the four-day National Education Union (NEU) conference in Brighton were warned of the “ticking time bomb” of widespread asbestos contamination of the UK’s educational infrastructure. According to NEU executive member Sarah Vaughan since 2000, more than 300 teaching professionals died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. Unfortunately, she said “there is still no national removal plan and the government’s own survey doesn’t even record where asbestos is.” See: Asbestos is ‘ticking time bomb’ set to kill hundreds of thousands, NEU hears.

An article uploaded on March 28, 2026 to the news portal of the Malaysian National News Agency highlighted the ongoing threat posed by the presence of deteriorating asbestos-containing products within the ageing Malaysian infrastructure. Having considered the problems caused by the use of multiple toxic products, Associate Professor Dr Mohammad Ashraf Abdul Rahman said: “Asbestos ceilings were widely used in the past due to their low cost, but they contain microscopic fibres that can be released into the air. When inhaled, they can cause serious illnesses such as asbestosis and lung cancer.” See: Ageing Buildings: A Silent Health and Safety Threat.

On April 2, 2026, officials from 44 Malaysian groups – including trade unions, labor federations, consumer organizations, environmental activists and other civil society entities – called on the Government to take immediate action to finalize national prohibitions on all asbestos use despite pressure from commercial lobbying interests representing asbestos vested interests. The manifesto’s conclusion was categorical: “Our fate and our health must be decided by Malaysians, for Malaysians. Leave no room for the asbestos industry to dictate our future.” See: Malaysia’s Public Health under Threat: Groups Warn vs. Foreign Asbestos Industry Hijacking National Phase-out.

Another recall was issued by the EU’s Safety Gate, on April 2, 2026, regarding a children’s product which was contaminated with asbestos. The toxic children’s science kit was sold under the brand name: Playmonster and was called My Living Worm World. It was made in China and had been sold online throughout France via Vinted. According to the EU website: “The product contains asbestos fibres. Asbestos could cause cancer.” (The same product was recalled in the UK in February 2026 [see: Product Recall: My Living World Worm Kit (2602-0036)]).
 
See: Safety Gate: the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products Alert number: SR/00980/26.

To counter the epidemiological invisibility of the asbestos-related cancer malignant mesothelioma (MM) in Brazil, on April 1, 2026 Congressman Vicente Alves de Oliveira Junior, commonly known as Vicentinho, presented Bill 6265/25 to the Chamber of Deputies which would require laboratories to report confirmed cases of MM to the Ministry of Health. According to Vicentinho, more than 90% of patients die in under a year after being diagnosed with MM and many cases go undiagnosed. See: Projeto obriga laboratórios a notificarem casos de câncer associado à exposição ao amianto [Draft bill requires laboratories to report cancer cases linked to asbestos exposure].

On March 31, 2026, a written answer was published by the Luxembourg Minister for the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism and the Minister for Consumer Protection in response to parliamentary question No. 3706 of February 27, 2026 submitted by Deputy Claire Delcourt regarding the sale of asbestos-contaminated play sand in Luxembourg and current controls on imported play sand products. The Luxembourg MP asked: "Does the government see a need for action at European level to tighten controls on imported play sand products?” This exchange was reported in a headline article in The Luxembourg Times the next day.
 
See: Luxembourg Parliamentary Question and Answer about sale of toxic play sand.

On April 2, 2026 a news release was featured on the website of the Building and Wood Workers’ International which expressed the serious concerns of dozens of civil society groups about foreign intervention in the democratic process to derail well-established plans to end asbestos import and use in Malaysia. The global mouthpiece representing asbestos vested interests – the International Chrysotile Association (ICA) – was accused of “once again attempting to hijack our national policy” and subvert work to implement national prohibitions. “Banning asbestos is,” the text said “fundamentally a matter of national interest… Our fate and our health must be decided by Malaysians, for Malaysians. Leave no room for the asbestos industry to dictate our future.” [Read full article]

On April 2, 2026, 300 delegates convened in Cambodia’s capital for a government-sponsored consultation to examine the country’s strategy for implementing asbestos prohibitions. Central to the discussions was a 60-page publication launched at the meeting: the Economic Impact Assessment Related to the Use of Asbestos (EIA). To this end, one of the EIA’s authors was in attendance to answer questions. The Executive Summary of the EIA was uncompromising in its findings: “The economic assessment of a proposed ban on asbestos containing materials and raw asbestos fibres was found to be economically viable, with the health benefits from avoided disease far outweighing the cost of implementation and transition by a ratio of 4:1, even under conservative assumptions.” [Read full article]

A timely and informative article by Merlin Chowkwanyun, PhD, MPH from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City has been reproduced on this website with the author’s blessing. The text reported a rare retraction by The Lancet, “one of the oldest and most prestigious academic journals,” of an unsigned 1997 commentary that discounted the hazard posed by the use of personal hygiene products contaminated with asbestos. The disavowal of the commentary resulted from a discovery made by American researchers – Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner – who were able to provide evidence showing that the contentious text had been written by a consultant paid by Johnson & Johnson, who had shared the draft with company officials and made changes based on their comments. [Read full article]

On January 23 2026, the Canadian government uploaded a 64-page document entitled: Draft Guidance on Asbestos in Drinking Water at the start of a 60-day public consultation process. Interested stakeholders were invited to submit comments before March 24, 2026. The joint submission by Prevent Cancer Now, Canadian Environmental Law Association and Friends of the Earth Canada is informative not only about the current situation in Canada but also has implications for people in many other jurisdictions who are dealing with the adverse fallout from the continuing use of deteriorating asbestos-cement water pipes. We are very grateful for the permission received to upload this document. [Read full article]

For the first time since 1950, annual global asbestos production fell to less than a million tonnes in 2024. This was not a blip, as the low level of production was repeated the following year. Dwindling global output generates less money for propaganda campaigns, international love-ins and aggressive political lobbying by asbestos stakeholders. Industry-funded bodies, such as the International Chrysotile Association, are hanging on by their fingertips; many of these industry fronts have been dissolved or disappeared. The simple chart featured in this article is an accurate and useful depiction of the truth denied by vested interests: the asbestos industry is terminal. The sooner the plug is pulled, the better. [Read full article]

Like pretty much every other country, Britain has a lethal asbestos legacy which continues to endanger the lives of its citizens. Our public buildings, water delivery systems and homes were not only built with asbestos but also currently contain articles contaminated by it such as imported children’s toys, hygiene products and make-up sets. Whilst some of the consequences of toxic exposures have been quantified, others remain unrecognized and unacknowledged. The hazard posed by children playing with craft and play-sand sets and stretchy rubber figures that contain chrysotile and/or tremolite asbestos fibers is extremely concerning. [Read full article]

Late last year, news began circulating about asbestos contamination of imported children’s playsets in Australia and New Zealand. Every day seemed to bring news of more discoveries and school closures. As concurrent recalls were issued by Canberra and Wellington, in Britain and elsewhere the sale of the toxic products continued. By February, a few European governments were acknowledging the hazard and one or two were actually taking action. No coverage of this scandal has been seen in media reports from North or Latin America or Asia, with the exception of Japan. Of course, we don’t know if these contaminated play sand sets and figurines were exported there but given the carcinogenicity of asbestos and the fact that these products are used by children wouldn’t it be better to be sure? [Read full article]

The repercussions of discoveries made in Australia and New Zealand in November 2025, have been reverberating around the globe ever since. Whilst the speed with which countries engaged with the scientific findings varied, there was no denying the public concern over asbestos contamination of craft and kinetic sand products and other toys. A commentary by Asbestos Consultant & Occupational Hygienist Benjamin Alford from Auckland, New Zealand provided clear-cut explanations and graphic images to demystify the key issues involved. Concluding his text, Aflord noted: “The long-term win isn’t more headlines; it’s better upstream control, better method selection, and fewer families learning what ‘tremolite’ means from a recall notice.” [Read full article]

The well-known phrase in the article title is attributed to the 19th century British statesman William Gladstone. These words have been ringing in my ears since February 11, 2026 when I heard the latest news in the long-running battle for justice by Italian asbestos victims. Although the Swiss asbestos billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny was found guilty for the asbestos deaths of hundreds of Italians by lower and appeal courts, in 2014 & 2025 the Supreme Court quashed the convictions on technical grounds. This month, a 2025 guilty verdict was sent back to Turin with an order to have the 600+ page judgment translated into German, the defendant’s mother tongue. According to campaigner Nicola Pondrano, who is still reeling from this decision: “The sense of injustice and the bitterness felt by the whole community is immense.” [Read full article]

The existence of abandoned mining towns is a reality in many parts of the world where hordes of adventurers had once sought riches from wealth-giving gold, silver and other minerals. Two such communities, built on asbestos hopes and fueled by asbestos profits, were Cassiar, Canada and Wittenoom, Australia. Once the seams of asbestos no longer proved viable, the towns built around them were redundant. Comparing the histories of Cassiar and Wittenoom revealed both similarities and differences in the lived experiences of workers and their families as well as the deadly consequences of the time spent in the toxic towns. [Read full article]

In December 2025, Dr Helen Clayson had the opportunity to visit the Archives and Special Collections department in the Andersonian Library, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow to peruse some of the material in its asbestos archives. With the help of assistant archivist Rachael Jones, Dr Clayson examined historical documents, industry reports and revealing photographs. This material, she reported, helps “us to understand how a major public health issue took so long to come to attention and for victims to be recognised, supported and financially compensated.” [Read full article]

The Saturday, January 24, 2026 issue of The Guardian newspaper ran a story entitled Asbestos found in children’s play sand sold in UK, which confirmed that asbestos-contaminated colored sand had been sold in the UK by the nationwide chain Hobbycraft. The company withdrew the product from its shelves but did not recall it, saying that there had been no government warning. A Westminster spokesperson criticized Hobbycraft’s half measures, saying “there’s no good reason why Hobbycraft shouldn’t recall this themselves, given the evidence;” whilst the Department for Business and Trade resorted to its standard rhetoric defending the country’s “robust product safety laws” and “strict criteria.” You couldn’t make it up! [Read full article]

An exposé screened by Italy’s public broadcaster RAI on Sunday January 4, 2026 refocused national attention on a scandal which had been festering for decades: the failure of the Italian authorities to hold to account people responsible for a national epidemic of avoidable ill-health and premature deaths. While there is no proof that the offers made by international powerbrokers revealed on the program were either realized or responsible for the Supreme Court’s contentious decision in 2014 to overturn Stephan Schmidheiny’s convictions over asbestos deaths caused by his Italian operations, the public most definitely has a right to know why the Court took that action. With another Supreme Court asbestos decision on the horizon, clarity from the Court is a matter of some urgency. [Read full article]

At the end of last year Azerbaijan, a former Soviet Republic, announced plans to outlaw the use of asbestos and asbestos-containing products. This follows national bans in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine. Pro-asbestos propaganda spread by Russian and Kazakh producers – responsible for ~70% of global asbestos output – has clearly lost the dominance it once had over the regional asbestos discourse. According to Azerbaijani ecologist Rovshan Abbasov: “The history of asbestos bans in developed countries begins with the discovery of a direct link between this mineral and the development of severe lung diseases, including cancer. Medical studies have irrefutably proven the carcinogenicity of asbestos fibres when inhaled.” [Read full article]

December is traditionally the time of year to review the accomplishments, triumphs and low points of the last twelve months. Throughout the year, initiatives to identify the asbestos-injured, build medical capacity, implement awareness campaigns, lobby decision-makers and expose asbestos injustices were implemented in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, Latin & North America. There can be no doubt that the problems asbestos poses to humanity and the environment are now an integral part of discussions about human rights, environmental justice, ecodiversity and sustainability. Despite progress made in 2025, much remains to be done. We look forward to working with you all in 2026. In the meantime, please accept greetings of solidarity and friendship and our very best wishes for a happy and healthy new year! [Read full article]

One week before Christmas, the UK government issued a blanket denial about the sale of imported asbestos-contaminated toys in response to three questions asked by Labour MP Ian Lavery: “There is no evidence these products are available on the UK market.” They are wrong and the proof was readily available if anyone had bothered to look. Our online research identified at least two of the products recalled in Australia over asbestos fears which had been listed on Amazon UK: Educational Colours Rainbow Sand and Galt Sand Stickers. It seems obvious that given the choice parents and grandparents would prefer to err on the side of caution and choose a gift that did not contain a toxic substance. Shouldn’t someone, somewhere be sounding the alarm? [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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