WHO has never warned that white asbestos is too dangerous and must be banned?

There is an informal group of people working for the WHO that consistently states that asbestos-related cancers are caused by chrysotile asbestos exposure.

Recently, at a conference on the use of white asbestos organized by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM - under the Ministry of Planning and Investment), Dr. John Hoskins, Independent Consultant - Royal Society of Chemistry, UK (Haslemere, UK) said: "In fact, WHO has not officially said that white asbestos is too dangerous and we must ban it. But there is a group of people who unofficially work for WHO in many presentations in their countries that asbestos-related cancers are caused by exposure to white asbestos. However, this group still stubbornly uses this point of view, they ignore factors such as the type of asbestos, the level of exposure, the level of safety in use..."

The World Health Organization [WHO]'s highest authority, the World Health Assembly [WHA], in 2007 opposed the ban on chrysotile asbestos. To this day, contrary to popular belief, this decision remains the official policy of the WHA and WHO. “However, an informal group within WHO stubbornly denies this official policy and uses incomplete, distorted statistics to mislead the public. In fact, many cases of cancer are attributed to asbestos, but they also have the habit of smoking and are not attributed for this reason, but choose to be due to asbestos,” said John Hoskins.

Specifically, according to Mr. John Hoskins, they often ignore the following important factors: Type of asbestos, level of exposure, safe methods of use. They often quote incompletely as follows: "Currently, about 125 million people in the world are exposed to asbestos in the workplace. According to global estimates, at least 90,000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer" but omit the evidence that: "In 20 studies on 100,000 workers in asbestos-related work environments, the mortality rate ranged from 1.04 for white asbestos workers and 4.97 for brown asbestos workers. Therefore, it can be said that the number of lung cancer cases is not more than expected due to low exposure levels".

Citing the results of the most recent studies on the effects of asbestos, Mr. John Hoskins said: Asbestos mineral fibers can cause certain diseases (Pneumoconiosis, Lung cancer, Mesothelioma... but are not the only cause of those diseases. These diseases are the result of exposure to high concentrations of asbestos or exposure over a long period of time. Today, because the exposure threshold is very low, these diseases can be considered diseases of the past. They are mostly diseases caused by exposure to amphibole asbestos (brown and blue asbestos) although animal experiments also show the risk of causing these diseases from white asbestos. Specifically: Pneumoconiosis - caused by all types of asbestos fibers; Lung cancer - Caused mostly by asbestos belonging to the amphiboles group; Mesothelioma - Due to amphiboles asbestos.

Some interesting research results

Although there is no global consensus, asbestos-related lung cancer may be a consequence of existing asbestosis, according to Dr. John Hoskins. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has stated that one in seven people with asbestosis develop lung cancer.

The data show that the hypothesis that chrysotile and amphibole asbestos have the same potential to cause mesothelioma is not valid. The hypothesis that pure chrysotile does not cause mesothelioma is not refuted by any of the data. (Berman & Crump, 2008)

“Despite ongoing scientific efforts and legal arguments, the risk of human pleural mesothelioma from exposure to airborne chrysotile asbestos not contaminated with amphibole asbestos is negligible” (Yarborough, Curr Opin Pulm Med 2007)

Most asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) manufactured and used today are made from high-density asbestos cement. In these products, the chrysotile is bound by a tight matrix and does not readily release fibers during daily use.

Several studies have shown that white asbestos in cement undergoes many changes in surface properties, composition and crystal structure.

Other studies have shown that these chemical changes significantly reduce the bioavailability of chrysotile fibers. Therefore, the risk posed by asbestos cement is also significantly reduced. (Elovskaya, 1992)

A later study investigating Elovskaya's findings and all previous research results clearly showed that the chrysotile fibers present in the Portland cement structure were chemically and structurally altered. In addition, the study also showed that the increased calcium and silicon dosages were partly due to the tight bonding of the molecules and the tendency to bond more and more. (Pooley, 2004)

A study assessing the risk of cancer in the Thetford mine area found a very low estimate of the risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma caused by asbestos, close to the Health Canada threshold of “negligible” for lifetime cancer risk (Bourgault, Gagné and Valcke. Intl J Hyg Environ Hlth 2013).

According to VOV.VN