Overview

Exporting an Epidemic

A global network of lobby groups has spent nearly $100 million since the mid-1980s to preserve the market for asbestos, a carcinogen now banned or restricted in 52 countries. Scientists say asbestos may cause up to 10 million deaths by 2030, with a mounting toll in the developing world. Read More

Also: View the Project's Key Findings

India

A Toxic Embrace

Asbestos use is exploding in India, fueled by demand for roofing in poor, rural areas. A powerful, New Delhi-based trade group spends millions on pro-asbestos ads, lobbying, and counteracting critical science on the mineral. Health experts predict an epidemic of asbestos-related diseases. Read More

Brazil

The Brockovich of Brazil

Federal labor inspector Fernanda Giannasi has waged war against Brazil’s politically connected asbestos industry for more than a quarter-century. Her goal: a nationwide ban on the mineral in Brazil, one of the world’s top five users. Giannasi has become a heroine to victims of asbestos disease. Read More

United States

America’s Asbestos Age

Although U.S. asbestos use has plummeted from its peak in the 1970s, the mineral continues to kill an estimated 10,000 Americans each year. Lawsuits have cost the industry $70 billion in damages and litigation, and now a third wave of lawsuits, brought by auto mechanics and others, is moving through the courts. Read More

Russia

The World’s Asbestos Behemoth

Russia produces nearly 1 million tons of asbestos a year, almost half the world’s supply, and boasts strong government backing. “We feel the absolute support of the state,” says an industry lobbyist. One mine, near the aptly named city of Asbest, is nearly half the size of Manhattan. Read More

Mexico

A Growing Death Toll in Mexico

Mexico uses ten times the amount of asbestos as the United States, relying heavily on imports from Canada. A Mexico City doctor says that the number of asbestos-related deaths in Mexico could rise to 5,000 per year as a result of the nation’s loosely regulated use of the toxic mineral. Read More

China

A Ravenous Appetite for Asbestos

For China, the world’s biggest asbestos consumer, the worst may be yet to come. Widespread use began in the late 1970s, and given the lag time between exposure and the onset of disease, health experts say, China’s appetite for the mineral will have lethal consequences into the middle of this century. Read More

Japan

Asbestos Test Under Fire in Japan

Asbestos was long considered a “magic mineral” that helped Japan rise from the ashes of World War II. But today, experts say more than 100,000 people in Japan will die of asbestos-related diseases by 2040 – and the toll may be higher because the method used to analyze building materials for asbestos is unreliable. Read More