South African asbestos: Production, exports, and destinations, 1959-1993

Abstract

Production and export figures of South African asbestos were analyzed over 1959–1993. They show stable sales of chrysotile. Those of crocidolite and amosite reached their peaks in the mid‐1970s, after which trade fell drastically, crocidolite to 5% of its earlier peak and amosite to nil. Factors responsible for these virtual collapses were health issues, stricter legislation in First World countries, and litigation. In 1992, 21 countries continued to import crocidolite, although in reduced quantities. In the early 1960s, Europe and North America were the major recipients of South African asbestos. By 1989–91, these regions were surpassed by the Far East, which took over 90% of chrysotile and 70% of amosite. For crocidolite at that time, the Middle East took nearly 40%, Europe 28%, and Africa 21%. This implies that the newly importing countries can confidently expect an increase in asbestos‐related disease and death well into the twenty‐first century, even if the trade ceased now. Am. J. Ind. Med. 33:321–326, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Risk of mesothelioma from exposure to crocidolite asbestos: a 1995 update of a South African mortality study

“…Nevertheless, the mortality in women was still high and probably a consequence of environmental exposure. Due to the long latent period of the development of this neoplasm, and continuing high production of crocidolite asbestos until the late 1970s19 the cause specific mortality in this cohort can be expectd to increase rapidly over the next 10 years.…”

Mineralogy and Malignant Mesothelioma: The South African Experience

“…The mining of chrysotile asbestos ceased when the last mine at Msauli closed in 2002. Exports of chrysotile overtook that of amosite in the mid-1970s and crocidolite in the early 1980s (Harington and McGlashan, 1998). From 1980 to 2003, 1,568,928 metric tonnes of chrysotile had been exported, making up 54% of South Africa's total asbestos export over the period (Harington et al, 2010).…”

Epidemiology of mesothelioma—a South African perspective

“…The second wave paralleled the increasingly diverse use of amphibole asbestos, principally in Western Europe and Japan, but also in many other countries following the Second World War. South African crocodilite and amosite exports peaked in the late 1970s and declined progressively thereafter, finally ceasing in the mid 1990s [12]. In the epidemiology of mesothelioma, the third wave refers to possible exposures to residual amphibole asbestos or in its removal from the urban and industrial environment.…”