Lobbyists Pushing Asbestos Globally

A global network of lobby groups has spent nearly $100 million since the mid-1980s to preserve the international market for asbestos, a known carcinogen that's taken millions of lives and is banned or restricted in 52 countries, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has found in a nine-month investigation.

Backed by public and private money and aided by scientists and friendly governments, the groups helped facilitate the sale of 2.2 million tons of asbestos last year, mostly in developing nations. Anchored by the Montreal-based Chrysotile Institute, the network stretches from New Delhi to Mexico City to the city of Asbest in Russia's Ural Mountains. Its message is that asbestos can be used safely under "controlled" conditions.

As a result, asbestos use is growing rapidly in countries such as China and India, prompting health experts to warn of future epidemics of lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, an aggressive malignancy that usually attacks the lining of the lungs.

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Bravo comment:  You gotta wonder who these soulless lobbyists are.  Do the manufacturers recruit them from the tobacco lobby?  Like tobacco, I've personally known someone who died from exposure to asbestos through Mesothelioma.  It wasn't pretty.

This story falls under the category of "Just In Case You Needed More Evidence There's A Problem With Unrestricted Capitalism".

Lobbyists Pushing Asbestos Globally