LITERATURE REVIEW
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Ecological Association between Asbestos-related Diseases and Historical Asbestos Consumption: an International Analysis, published in the Lancet on March 10, 2007, concludes that to end the “global epidemic of asbestos-related diseases… all countries should move towards eliminating (the) use of asbestos.”1 The authors of this paper found a “clear and plausible” correlation between the amounts of national asbestos consumption in 1960-69 and the incidence of asbestos mortality in 2000-2004; statistical calculations using data from 33 countries revealed that:
“Historical asbestos consumption was a highly significant positive predictor of all mesothelioma mortality …
The association for asbestosis mortality rate was positive and statistically significant in men… The slope showed a 2.7-fold increase in deaths from asbestosis in men per 1 kg incremental rise in asbestos consumption in the population.”
In a press release issued by the Lancet, co-author Dr. Ken Takahashi commented: “The volume of asbestos consumed per head can act as a surrogate for the exposure levels of a population and ecological associations between exposure rates and disease rates can be measured.”
Asbestos in the World – a Special Report in the HESA Newsletter2 contains updated information on progress towards a global asbestos ban, developments regarding workers' protection, issues relating to compensation for asbestos victims as well as useful links and other information.
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1 Lin R, Takahashi K, Karjalainen A et al. Ecological Association between Asbestos-related Diseases and Historical Asbestos Consumption: an International Analysis. The Lancet. March 10, 2007. Vol 369 844-849.
2 http://hesa.etui-rehs.org/uk/dossiers/files/Asbestos-constructionworkers.pdf