Health experts concerned over India's asbestos industry.

摘要

Late last year, the Times of India ran an advertorial on behalf of the asbestos industry. Entitled "Blast those Myths about Asbestos", it began by asserting "asbestos is a naturally occurring material". Readers were assured that "only safe white fibre is used in manufacturing of asbestos cement products in India"; and that the "problems" other countries have encountered "are not relevant in the Indian context".India's surging consumption of asbestos, the industry's hefty political and economic clout-of which the Times advertorial was one manifestation-and the country's poor record of worker protection, has alarmed experts. A sizeable burden of asbestos-related disease is inevitable. But ifcurrenttrends continue unabated, the public health consequences will be felt into the next century.