Asbestos: miracle material turned health nightmare

Once billed as a miraculous material, asbestos has turned into a nightmare for countries that used it for decades, with more workers across the world falling ill because of its cancer-causing properties.

Here are some facts about the material:

Why was asbestos popular and where was it used?

Asbestos was popular because of its resistance to heat, fire, and chemical attacks as well as extraordinary tensile strength.

As a result, it was used for insulation in buildings, as well as in numerous products such as fire blankets, brake linings, gaskets and water supply lines.

The building and heavy industries were the biggest consumers of asbestos.

And workers most exposed were therefore shipbuilders, sailors, railworkers, dock workers, miners, car mechanics, plumbers, electricians and carpenters.

There are no natural or artificial materials that have the same qualities as asbestos.

At the peak of its usage in the 1970s, some five million tonnes of asbestos were being generated annually, according to news website Swissinfo.

Why is asbestos a significant health risk?

Asbestos is a group of fibrous minerals which are often incorporated in other material like cement. But when the main material disintegrates, the fibres are released and can be inhaled.

According to a 2010 WHO report, about 125 million workers across the world were exposed to asbestos at the work place and more than 107,000 die every year from asbestos-linked diseases.

The harmful effects of inhaling the fibres have been well documented since the beginning of the last century and its carcinogenic characteristics apparent since the 1950s.

All forms of asbestos are carcinogenic, and can cause cancers of the lung, larynx and ovary.

Exposure to asbestos fibres can also cause non-cancerous diseases such as asbestosis — fibrosis of the lungs, and pleural plaques.

Who uses asbestos today?

Asbestos was banned in all of the European Union in 2005, although several countries had already outlawed it in the 1990s.

But despite its noxious properties, it continues to be used in several countries.

According to data from a US geological studies institute, some 2 million tonnes were used in 2007 across the world.

China is the main consumer with 30 percent, India 15 percent, Russia 13 percent, Kazakhstan and Brazil with 5 percent.