Unions, government officials, health agencies and campaigners have met in Laos to coordinate a plan to ban asbestos.

The workshop, organised by the country’s Ministry of Health and supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA, discussed the development of a National Action Plan to ban the use of chrysotile asbestos – the only remaining form of asbestos in commercial use – and to eliminate asbestos-related diseases in the country.  Participants included representatives from nine Ministries, the Lao Federation of Trade Unions, the Cancer Centre of Mittaphap and Mahasot Hospitals and Health Science University.

Dr Juliet Fleischl, the WHO representative to Lao PDR, told the meeting: “About 125 million people in the world are exposed to asbestos at the workplace. According to global estimates, at least 107,000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, ovarian cancer, asbestosis and pleural plaques, resulting from occupational, take-home and neighbourhood exposures.”

The meeting heard the amount of asbestos imported by Laos has been increasing year-on-year, reaching over 8,000 tons in 2013.  This is the highest per capital consumption among Asia-Pacific countries.

A National Asbestos Profile recently developed by the Lao government with support from APHEDA, showed that there were 16 factories producing asbestos-containing roof tiles. The national consumption of asbestos fibre increased almost 240 per cent in just three years between 2010 and 2013.

WHO recommended that the most efficient way to eliminate asbestos-related diseases is to stop the use of chrysotile asbestos. The meeting heard there are safer substitutes for asbestos, and there was a need to adopt the safer alternatives while creating new job opportunities.