The competing interests statement in this article was incomplete. One of the authors, Vito Foa, has given advice to and legal testimony on behalf of an Italian railcar construction company from which people have sought compensation for alleged asbestos-related illnesses. In order to eliminate the burden of disease and death that is caused worldwide by exposure to asbestos, the Collegium Ramazzini calls for an immediate ban on all mining and use of asbestos. To be effective, the ban must be international in scope and must be enforced in every country in the world.
Asbestos is an occupational and environmental hazard of catastrophic proportions.
The profound tragedy of the asbestos epidemic is that all illnesses and deaths related to asbestos are entirely preventable. Safer substitutes for asbestos exist, and they have been introduced successfully in many countries. The grave hazards of exposure to asbestos and the availability of some safer substitute materials have led a growing number of countries to eliminate the import and use of asbestos. In the United States, there has been a drastic reduction in the use of asbestos. Asbestos has been banned by Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, France, Austria, Poland and Saudi Arabia.