What Countries Still Use Asbestos — And How the UK Compares
Asbestos kills more people in the UK every year than any other single work-related cause. Yet across the world, millions of workers are still being exposed to it daily — legally. Understanding what countries still use asbestos, and why, puts the UK’s own regulatory journey into sharp relief and shows why the global fight against this material is far from over.
The UK’s Asbestos Regulations: Where We Stand
The UK has one of the most robust asbestos regulatory frameworks in the world. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) oversees enforcement, and the Control of Asbestos Regulations sets out clear duties for anyone who owns, occupies, or manages a non-domestic building.
The UK banned blue (crocidolite) and brown (amosite) asbestos in 1985, followed by a complete ban on white asbestos (chrysotile) in 1999. Since then, the emphasis has shifted from preventing new use to managing the vast quantity of asbestos already embedded in the UK’s building stock.
HSE guidance — including HSG264, which governs asbestos surveying — sets the standard for how surveys, risk assessments, and management plans must be carried out. Duty holders who fail to comply face improvement notices, prosecution, and significant fines. This is not a regulatory framework that exists on paper alone; enforcement is active and ongoing.
What Countries Still Use Asbestos?
Despite the well-documented links between asbestos exposure and diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis, a significant number of countries continue to mine, import, and use asbestos in construction and manufacturing. The picture is not uniform — some permit limited use under regulation, others have almost no controls at all.
Russia
Russia is the world’s largest producer and one of its biggest consumers of asbestos, primarily chrysotile (white asbestos). The Russian asbestos industry actively promotes the material as safe when used in a “controlled” way — a position rejected by the World Health Organisation and the broader scientific consensus.
Regulations exist on paper but enforcement is inconsistent, and public health messaging around asbestos risks remains limited. Entire towns in Russia have been built around asbestos mining, making the economic and political stakes of any ban extremely high.
China
China is among the world’s largest users of asbestos, importing substantial quantities annually for use in construction materials, friction products, and textiles. Brown and blue asbestos are banned, but white asbestos remains in widespread use across a vast industrial workforce.
The scale of exposure has created serious and growing public health concerns. Regulatory reform has been slow, partly because the industries that depend on asbestos carry significant economic weight within the country’s manufacturing sector.
India
India uses hundreds of thousands of tonnes of asbestos every year, primarily in asbestos-cement roofing sheets used in low-cost housing. The Supreme Court has considered a ban, but enforcement of any restrictions remains weak.
Awareness of asbestos-related disease among workers and the general public is low, partly because the asbestos industry has historically been effective at limiting public health messaging. With a large informal construction workforce, the risks are particularly acute.
United States
The United States has never implemented a complete asbestos ban — a fact that surprises many people. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates asbestos in certain products and settings, and some uses have been restricted over the decades, but chrysotile asbestos can still be legally imported and used in specific applications.
Many Americans are unaware that asbestos was never fully banned, which contributes to ongoing exposure risks in workplaces and communities. The absence of a federal prohibition remains a significant gap in US occupational health law.
Brazil
Brazil has had a complicated relationship with asbestos. Individual states moved to ban it, and the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favour of a national ban — but implementation and enforcement have been patchy across different regions.
Brazil was historically both a major producer and consumer of chrysotile asbestos, and transitioning away from it has proved politically and economically difficult. The country’s experience illustrates how legal prohibition and practical elimination are not the same thing.
Kazakhstan and Other Central Asian Nations
Several Central Asian countries continue to mine and use asbestos with minimal regulatory oversight. Kazakhstan is a significant producer, and asbestos remains embedded in the construction industries of several nations in the region where regulatory frameworks are still developing.
These countries face a combination of economic dependency on asbestos extraction and limited institutional capacity to enforce occupational health standards — a combination that leaves workers highly vulnerable.
Countries That Have Banned Asbestos Completely
More than 55 countries have now implemented a full ban on asbestos. The UK sits firmly within this group, alongside a growing international coalition committed to prohibition. Countries that have enacted complete bans include:
- European Union member states — all EU nations prohibit all forms of asbestos, with strict enforcement frameworks in place
- Australia — implemented a comprehensive ban and has become a leader in asbestos removal and management technology
- Japan — phased out asbestos use and implemented a complete ban, with strict environmental and occupational health standards
- South Korea — banned all asbestos types and developed comprehensive enforcement mechanisms
- Canada — after decades of being a major chrysotile producer and exporter, implemented a full ban, representing a significant shift in policy
- South Africa and Egypt — among African nations that have prohibited asbestos use to protect public health
- Israel and the United Arab Emirates — Middle Eastern countries that have enacted and actively enforce asbestos bans
The trend is clearly towards prohibition, but the pace varies enormously depending on economic pressures, the strength of domestic asbestos industries, and political will. A ban on paper is only meaningful if it is backed by genuine enforcement capacity.
Why Do Some Countries Still Allow Asbestos?
The persistence of asbestos use in certain nations is rarely about ignorance of the science. The reasons are typically economic and political — and understanding them helps explain why global elimination remains a long-term challenge.
Low Cost and Versatility
Asbestos — particularly chrysotile — is cheap, widely available, and effective as an insulating and fire-resistant material. In countries where affordable housing is a pressing need, asbestos-cement sheets remain an attractive option for construction.
Replacing them with safer alternatives requires investment that governments and industries may be reluctant to make. Until safer substitutes become equally accessible and affordable, the economic argument for asbestos will persist in certain markets.
Powerful Industry Lobbying
The asbestos industry in producing nations — particularly Russia and certain Central Asian countries — has been effective at lobbying against bans, promoting the concept of “controlled use” and actively disputing the scientific evidence on chrysotile’s dangers.
This lobbying extends internationally, with efforts to influence policy in importing nations and to undermine international health guidance. The “controlled use” argument has been consistently rejected by the World Health Organisation, but it continues to carry weight in political arenas where economic interests dominate.
Weak Regulatory Infrastructure
In many developing nations, the capacity to enforce occupational health regulations is simply limited. Even where laws exist, inspections are infrequent, penalties are low, and workers — many of them in informal employment — have little recourse.
The result is that regulations on paper do not translate into protection in practice. Building genuine enforcement capacity takes time, resources, and political commitment that is not always present.
Limited Public Awareness
In countries where asbestos-related diseases are not well documented or publicly discussed, the political pressure to act is lower. Mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer have long latency periods — symptoms may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure — which makes it harder to connect cause and effect in public discourse.
By the time the disease burden becomes visible, decades of exposure have already occurred. This delayed consequence is one of the most insidious aspects of asbestos as a public health hazard.
The Health Consequences of Weak Asbestos Regulation
The World Health Organisation estimates that tens of thousands of people die every year from asbestos-related diseases — a figure covering only occupational exposure and widely considered an underestimate when environmental and secondary exposure is factored in.
In countries with lax regulation, workers in construction, manufacturing, and mining face the highest risks. But exposure is not limited to workers — communities near asbestos mines and processing facilities, and families of workers who carry fibres home on their clothing, are also affected.
The diseases caused by asbestos are aggressive and largely incurable:
- Mesothelioma — a cancer of the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart, almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure, with a very poor prognosis
- Asbestosis — progressive and irreversible scarring of the lung tissue that worsens over time
- Asbestos-related lung cancer — directly linked to fibre inhalation and clinically indistinguishable from other forms of the disease
- Pleural plaques and pleural thickening — indicators of past exposure that can affect breathing and quality of life
The UK’s own experience illustrates the long shadow asbestos casts. Despite the 1999 ban, the UK still sees thousands of asbestos-related deaths each year — a consequence of exposure that occurred decades ago. Countries currently allowing widespread use will face a similar, and likely larger, wave of disease in the decades ahead.
The UK’s Role in International Asbestos Management
The UK actively engages with international bodies including the World Health Organisation and the European Union on asbestos policy. HSE representatives participate in global forums focused on asbestos awareness and management, sharing expertise on surveying, removal, and risk assessment.
The UK has also developed bilateral partnerships with countries including Australia and Canada — both of which have similarly moved to full prohibition — to share research, regulatory approaches, and technological developments in asbestos detection and removal.
These collaborations matter because asbestos does not respect borders. Ships, imported goods, and materials can carry asbestos into countries that have banned it. Consistent international standards — and sustained pressure on producing nations — are essential to reducing global exposure over the long term.
What This Means for Property Owners and Managers in the UK
For anyone responsible for a UK building constructed before the year 2000, the global context is a useful reminder of why the UK’s domestic regulations exist — and why compliance matters. The Control of Asbestos Regulations places a legal duty on those responsible for non-domestic premises to manage asbestos, and that starts with knowing what is there.
An asbestos management survey is the essential first step. It identifies the location, condition, and type of any asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in a building, enabling a risk assessment and management plan to be put in place. Without this baseline information, duty holders cannot demonstrate compliance — and cannot protect the people who use their buildings.
Where ACMs are found to be in poor condition or at risk of disturbance, the next step may be planned asbestos removal by a licensed contractor. Removal is not always necessary — well-managed ACMs in good condition can often be left in place — but where it is required, it must be carried out in strict accordance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations.
The UK’s regulatory framework is sophisticated precisely because it was built on hard experience. The diseases being diagnosed today are the result of exposure that happened when asbestos was still in widespread use. Compliance now is not bureaucratic box-ticking — it is the mechanism by which future harm is prevented.
Practical Steps for UK Duty Holders
If you manage or own a non-domestic building built before 2000, here is what you need to do:
- Commission a management survey — this is a legal requirement for non-domestic premises and provides the foundation for all subsequent asbestos management decisions
- Produce an asbestos register — document the location, type, and condition of all ACMs identified during the survey
- Develop a management plan — set out how ACMs will be monitored, managed, and, where necessary, removed
- Review regularly — the register and management plan must be kept up to date, particularly if the building undergoes any refurbishment or change of use
- Inform contractors — anyone carrying out work in the building must be made aware of the asbestos register before work begins
Supernova Asbestos Surveys provides management surveys across the UK, with accredited surveyors operating nationwide. Whether your property is in the capital — where our team covers asbestos survey London work across all boroughs — or further afield, we have local expertise to support you.
Our surveyors also cover the North West and Midlands extensively. If you need an asbestos survey Manchester or an asbestos survey Birmingham, Supernova can mobilise quickly and deliver reports that meet HSG264 standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What countries still use asbestos in 2024?
Several countries continue to mine, import, or use asbestos. Russia remains the world’s largest producer and consumer of chrysotile asbestos. China, India, Kazakhstan, and a number of other Central Asian nations also continue to use asbestos in construction and manufacturing. The United States has never implemented a complete federal ban, meaning chrysotile can still be legally used in certain applications. In total, more than 50 countries have not yet enacted a full prohibition on asbestos use.
Has the UK completely banned asbestos?
Yes. The UK implemented a complete ban on all forms of asbestos, with the final prohibition on white asbestos (chrysotile) coming into effect in 1999. The UK’s regulatory framework — governed by the Control of Asbestos Regulations and enforced by the HSE — is considered one of the most robust in the world. The focus now is on managing the asbestos already present in the UK’s existing building stock, which remains a significant public health and compliance challenge.
Why do some countries still allow asbestos despite knowing it causes cancer?
The continued use of asbestos in certain countries is driven primarily by economic and political factors rather than scientific uncertainty. Asbestos — particularly chrysotile — is cheap and widely available, making it attractive for construction in lower-income markets. Powerful industry lobbying in producing nations has been effective at promoting the concept of “controlled use” and resisting prohibition. In many developing nations, regulatory infrastructure is also limited, meaning that even where laws exist, enforcement is inconsistent. The long latency period of asbestos-related diseases — sometimes 20 to 50 years — also reduces the immediate political pressure to act.
Does asbestos use in other countries affect the UK?
It can. Imported goods, machinery, and materials can carry asbestos into the UK even though its manufacture and use are banned domestically. The HSE and Border Force work to intercept asbestos-containing products, but the risk of contaminated imports is a genuine concern. There is also a broader public health dimension — the UK has an interest in reducing global asbestos use because the disease burden it creates affects international health systems and trade relationships. The UK engages with international bodies to promote global prohibition and share regulatory expertise.
What should I do if I suspect asbestos in my building?
Do not disturb the material. If you manage or own a non-domestic building built before 2000, you have a legal duty under the Control of Asbestos Regulations to assess and manage any asbestos-containing materials on the premises. Commission an asbestos management survey from a qualified, accredited surveyor. The survey will identify the location, type, and condition of any ACMs and provide the basis for a management plan. If you are in any doubt, contact Supernova Asbestos Surveys on 020 4586 0680 or visit asbestos-surveys.org.uk for advice.
Speak to Supernova Asbestos Surveys
Supernova Asbestos Surveys has completed more than 50,000 surveys across the UK. Our accredited surveyors work to HSG264 standards and provide clear, actionable reports that help duty holders meet their legal obligations and protect the people in their buildings.
Whether you need a management survey, a refurbishment and demolition survey, or specialist advice on asbestos removal, we are ready to help. Call us on 020 4586 0680 or visit asbestos-surveys.org.uk to book your survey or request a quote.