Yet More Confirmation of Asbestos Hazard!
It continues to amaze me how each country needs to do its own research to reaffirm the deadly consequences of asbestos exposures. Newly published reports about the health hazard posed by airborne and waterborne asbestos fibers in Kyrgyzstan, Iran and Canada are typical. We know that asbestos liberated by manufacturing operations and road traffic endanger people in nearby neighborhoods; we also know that asbestos dumpsites can contaminate local water sources. Nevertheless, it seems that until politicians have tailor-made data documenting the dangers no action will be taken. Does this make sense? No. Is it human nature to ignore what can be ignored? I guess so.
Kyrgyzstan, an independent republic within Russia’s sphere of influence, continues to use asbestos; annual asbestos consumption averaged ~11,000 tonnes/year between 2018 and 2023.1 More than a decade ago, environmental campaigner Dr Vladimir Kototenko told delegates at a UN meeting in Geneva about the widespread availability of asbestos-containing fireproofing, insulation and building products in Kyrgyzstan and the lack of government action to protect the population from toxic exposures.2 Work was ongoing by civil society groups, Dr Kototenko said, to quantify the country’s asbestos challenges and engage with government officials and decision-makers to implement occupational and environmental safeguards.3
 Sale of asbestos-cement pipes and roofing in the markets of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Photos courtesy of the Ecological Movement “BIOM,” Kyrgyzstan. |
A paper was published last month (July 2025) entitled “Assessment of asbestos exposure in Kyrgyzstan through analysis of raw and processed materials, air samples and human lung tissue” in the British peer-reviewed weekly science journal Nature.4 Using state-of-the-art methods, the researchers “found a remarkable amount of chrysotile (white asbestos)” both in the air and lungs of the population living in the study area. Amphibole asbestos fibers were also identified in samples of lung tissue even though no amphibole asbestos had been mined, imported or used. Whilst accepting the unpalatable political reality – “it is very difficult to think about a possible universal ban on asbestos mining and use in a short time” – the co-authors were adamant that strict regulation of asbestos use was “urgently needed in Central Asian countries.”5
On July 29, 2025, damning evidence linking excessive airborne asbestos levels to road traffic operations was reported by scientists from the Iran University of Medical Sciences and the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Like the authors of the paper referenced in the paragraph above, the researchers in Tehran called for urgent action on toxic exposures to the general public after air monitoring in Shiraz, a city in south-central Iran, found that 70% of the sampling sites had high to very high asbestos fiber concentrations with the highest readings recorded near high-traffic areas. “Motor vehicle traffic,” was the scientists wrote “the primary source of asbestos pollution…” Acknowledging the “significant health risk” to the population, traffic control measures and “replacing asbestos in brake pads with alternative materials” were recommended.6
In Quebec, the one-time asbestos heartland of Canada, 800+ million tonnes of toxic waste were created as a result of 130 years of open-pit asbestos mining in towns like Thetford Mines and Val-des-Sources, formerly called Asbestos.7 Mountains of tailings, all of which remain unremediated, dominate the landscapes of the region; although the amount of contaminated material in these grey mounds can vary, it is not unusual for them to be composed of up to 40% asbestos fibers.
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 Mountains of tailings from asbestos mining in Quebec. Photos courtesy of John Van Raalte (Enlarge the last image). |
Recently published results of research undertaken in 2023-2024 by the Quebec Ministry of the Environment in the former asbestos mining region found “high levels” of asbestos in waterways in Val-des-Sources and Thetford Mines. According to the Ministry, asbestos fibers liberated by the mountains of toxic mining waste “are causing an increase in the concentration of asbestos fibers in the water and sediments” of local rivers.8 Given the “unprecedented” nature of these findings, it is no wonder that people in Danville, Quebec – five miles from Val-des-Sources/Asbestos – are concerned about the possibility of contaminated public water supplies.9 Danville’s water is sourced from the Danville River which, the Ministry said, was one of the waterways affected.
International agencies including the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer agree that exposure to asbestos causes cancer and other serious diseases.10 The health hazard is undeniable whether the people exposed speak Kyrgyz, Russian, Farsi, French or English. Denying the harsh reality is neither justifiable nor pragmatic. Understanding and acting on the challenges is the only valid course of action.
August 6, 2025
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1 United States Geological Survey. Asbestos Data. Accessed July 30, 2025.
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/asbestos-statistics-and-information
2 Kazan-Allen. L. Rotterdam Convention 2013 – an Activist's Diary. May 21, 2023.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka-rotterdam-convention-an-activists-diary-may-2013.php
Website of Kant TSP LLC. Accessed July 30, 2025.
https://www.amcham.kg/en/members/kant-tsp/
3 BIOM asbestos Hazards Leaflet. Asbestos in Kyrgyzstan. Accessed July 30, 2025.
https://next.biom.kg/en/informatory/publications/5812cb34a6016dcc8ae57abd
4 Kurzhunbaeva, Z. et al. Assessment of asbestos exposure in Kyrgyzstan through analysis of raw and processed materials, air samples and human lung tissue. July 11, 2025.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-10736-1
Асбест: практика применения в Кыргызстане, проблемы и рекомендации Обзорное исследование [Asbestos: application practice in Kyrgyzstan, problems and recommendations. Review]. 2011.https://biom.kg/informateka/detail/asbest-praktika-primeneniya-v-kyrgyzstane-problemy-i-rekomendaczii/
5 Kant TSP LLC is the only company in the Kyrgyz Republic which produces asbestos building products including: chrysotile (asbestos) cement pipes; chrysotile cement roofing sheets; chrysotile cement flat boards; chrysotile fiber cement siding; etc.
https://www.amcham.kg/en/members/kant-tsp/
6 Norzaee, S. et al. Investigating the influence of urban land use on asbestos concentration and identifying the most vulnerable areas in Shiraz, Iran. July 29, 2025.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-12330-x
7 Kazan-Allen, L. Post-Asbestos Landscapes 2024. January 15, 2024.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka-post-asbestos-landscapes-2024.php
Lalonde, M. Too good to be true? Transforming asbestos mining residue into money. January 2, 2019.https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/too-good-to-be-true-transforming-asbestos-mining-residue-into-money
8 Des « niveaux élevés » d’amiante dans des cours d’eau à Val-des-Sources et Thetford Mines [“High levels” of asbestos in waterways in Val-des-Sources and Thetford Mines].
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2178876/residus-amiante-mines-rivieres-contamination
Quebec Ministry of Environment. Impact des résidus miniers amiantés sur les milieux aquatiques : bilan de la première année de suivi [Impact of mining waste; asbestos on aquatic environments; water: assessment of the first year of monitoring]. 2025.
https://www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/eau/flrivlac/impact-residus-mines-amiante-milieux-aquatiques-2025.pdf
9 Deshaies, T. Danville souhaite s’assurer qu’il n’y a pas d’amiante dans son eau potable [Danville wants to ensure there is no asbestos in its drinking water]. July 14, 2025.
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2179335/concentration-amiante-eau-danville-estrie
10 IBAS. Asbestos Policies of Major International Agencies. Updated August 1, 2025.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka_asb_polic_maj_int_agencies.php
