Asbestos

Note: links to specific asbestos campaigns are at foot ot this page

Asbestos- An Introduction:

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral which is almost indestructible. Its resistance to heat led to its use in thousands of products yet medical science has proved that breathing asbestos dust can kill.

An asbestos fibre is typically 2000 times thinner than a human hair. These fibres bypass the body's defence system and get deep into the lung, where they can cause serious damage.

Despite being banned in 1999 asbestos is still the biggest single cause of work related deaths in the UK.

Internationally the situation is even worse. Despite the known risks to health, asbestos is still mined in many countries including Russia, China, Brazil, Kazakhstan and India.

Each year they mine around 20,000,000 tonnes of asbestos.