Who Is the Largest Producer of Asbestos in the World — And Why It Still Matters for UK Buildings
Asbestos has been called a miracle mineral and a killer in the same breath — and both descriptions are accurate. Its story spans thousands of years, crossing continents and civilisations, before culminating in one of the most significant public health crises of the 20th century. Understanding who is the largest producer of asbestos in the world, and how global production shaped the crisis we still live with today, helps explain why asbestos remains a live and dangerous issue in buildings across the UK. Millions of properties built before 1999 still contain it. The legacy isn’t just historical — it’s structural, and it demands action.
Ancient Origins: Asbestos Before Industry
Asbestos wasn’t discovered by Victorian industrialists. Evidence of its use stretches back to the Stone Age, with fibres found woven into clay pots dating to around 2500 BC in what is now Finland. Ancient peoples had stumbled upon something genuinely remarkable: a soft, flexible mineral that wouldn’t burn.
Greece, Rome, and the Mediterranean World
The ancient Greeks and Romans were fascinated by asbestos. The word itself derives from the Greek ásbestos, meaning “indestructible.” Merchants traded it across the Mediterranean, and its fire-resistant qualities generated considerable mythology.
Common uses in the ancient world included:
- Wicks for temple lamps said to burn eternally
- Napkins and tablecloths cleaned by throwing them into fire
- Funeral shrouds, believed to keep the ashes of the dead separate from funeral pyre embers
- Building materials and plaster in Roman construction
- Clothing and textiles for ceremonial use
Plutarch described asbestos wicks in the eternal lamps of Delphi. The Roman geographer Strabo noted that asbestos cloth could be cleaned by fire. The material was rare, expensive, and treated with something close to reverence.
Notably, even at this early stage, there are references in ancient texts to illness among the slaves who worked with asbestos fibres. The Greeks reportedly avoided buying asbestos-working slaves because they tended to die young. The danger was observed long before it was understood.
Asia and the Silk Road
In China, asbestos was associated for centuries with the mythological fire salamander — the belief being that the fibres came from an animal that lived in flames. Marco Polo, visiting in the 13th century, made a point of dispelling this myth after seeing asbestos mines firsthand in what is now Xinjiang province.
Asbestos also appeared in Persian and Indian cultures, where it was similarly prized for its apparent magical resistance to fire. The mineral’s reputation as something almost supernatural followed it across the ancient world.
The Industrial Revolution: Asbestos Goes Global
For most of human history, asbestos remained a curiosity — expensive, rare, and largely limited to prestige applications. The Industrial Revolution changed everything. Steam engines, factories, and ironclad ships created an enormous demand for fireproofing and insulation. Asbestos, with its unmatched heat resistance and flexibility, was the answer to almost every problem industrial engineers faced.
The Birth of the Modern Asbestos Industry
Large-scale commercial asbestos mining began in earnest in the 1860s and 1870s. Key developments included:
- Canada: Major chrysotile deposits discovered in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, particularly around the town of Asbestos. This region became one of the most significant asbestos-producing areas in the world for over a century.
- South Africa: Significant deposits of crocidolite (blue asbestos) and amosite (brown asbestos) discovered in the Northern Cape and Limpopo regions — both later found to be among the most dangerous asbestos types.
- Russia: Vast chrysotile reserves in the Ural Mountains began to be exploited, laying the groundwork for what would eventually become the world’s largest asbestos-producing nation.
The UK, with no significant domestic deposits, became a major importer and processor. By the early 20th century, asbestos was being woven into the fabric of British industry — literally and figuratively.
Applications That Drove Demand
Asbestos proved useful in an almost bewildering range of applications:
- Boiler and pipe lagging in ships, factories, and power stations
- Fireproofing in commercial and public buildings
- Roof tiles, floor tiles, and cement sheeting
- Insulation boards and ceiling tiles
- Brake linings and clutch pads in vehicles
- Gaskets and seals in industrial machinery
- Textured coatings and spray-on insulation
For contractors and manufacturers, asbestos was almost too good to be true — cheap, widely available, easy to work with, and effective. The construction boom of the post-war decades saw it incorporated into schools, hospitals, offices, and homes across the UK and beyond. Those buildings are still standing today.
Who Is the Largest Producer of Asbestos in the World?
Global asbestos production followed a steep upward curve through most of the 20th century, peaking in the late 1970s and early 1980s before regulations and bans began to bite. The question of who is the largest producer of asbestos in the world has had different answers at different points in history — but one nation has dominated for decades.
Russia: The World’s Largest Asbestos Producer
Russia has been the world’s largest producer of asbestos for several decades and remains so today. The Soviet Union overtook Canada as the world’s leading producer around 1975, eventually exceeding 2.5 million tonnes annually at peak production.
Russian production is centred on the city of Asbest in the Ural Mountains — a city literally named after the mineral — where the Uralasbest mine operates as one of the largest open-pit asbestos mines on earth. Russia continues to mine and export chrysotile asbestos in significant quantities, primarily to markets in Asia, despite the WHO’s clear position that all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic.
Russian asbestos packaging has even featured politically charged imagery in export markets, illustrating how commercially and diplomatically loaded the global asbestos trade remains. The industry in Russia is not in decline — it is state-supported and actively promoted.
Other Major Producers Past and Present
While Russia leads, several other nations have played — and in some cases continue to play — significant roles in global asbestos production:
- Canada: Peaked at around 1.7 million tonnes in 1973, with the Jeffrey Mine in Quebec among the largest open-pit asbestos mines ever operated. Canada implemented a comprehensive ban in 2018 — a major turning point given its long history as a leading producer.
- China: Emerged as a dominant producer from the 1990s onwards and remains among the largest producers and consumers of asbestos globally. China’s domestic construction and industrial sectors continue to consume substantial quantities.
- Kazakhstan: Home to significant chrysotile deposits, Kazakhstan is a major producer supplying Asian markets.
- Brazil: Was a significant producer and consumer until its Supreme Court ruled in favour of a comprehensive ban, implemented in 2017.
- South Africa: A major exporter of blue and brown asbestos through the 1970s, despite growing evidence of their extreme toxicity. South Africa has since banned asbestos.
- Zimbabwe: Produced significant quantities of chrysotile through the 1970s and 1980s.
At the height of global production, asbestos was one of the most widely mined minerals on earth. The assumption — widely shared by industry and many governments — was that it was a wonder material with manageable risks. That assumption was catastrophically wrong.
The Medical Evidence: When the Truth Emerged
The health effects of asbestos were not a sudden discovery. Medical concern developed gradually over decades, often suppressed or downplayed by industry interests — a pattern that became a major focus of litigation and public inquiry worldwide.
Early Warning Signs
As far back as the late 19th century, factory inspectors in the UK were noting unusually high death rates among asbestos textile workers. In 1899, Dr H. Montague Murray examined a young man dying of severe lung fibrosis who had worked in an asbestos factory, and later testified that he believed asbestos dust was the cause of death — one of the earliest documented cases of what would later be called asbestosis.
In 1924, Dr W.E. Cooke published a detailed case study in the British Medical Journal, coining the term “asbestosis” to describe the progressive lung scarring caused by inhaled asbestos fibres. This was followed by a landmark report by Dr E.R.A. Merewether and C.W. Price, commissioned by the UK government, which confirmed that asbestosis was an occupational disease caused by asbestos dust in workplaces.
The UK introduced its first asbestos regulations in 1931 as a direct result — limited in scope, but significant as the first formal acknowledgement that asbestos posed an occupational health risk.
Cancer: The Evidence Mounts
Asbestosis was serious enough. But the cancer link proved to be the decisive factor in asbestos’s eventual downfall. By the 1950s and 1960s, researchers — including Sir Richard Doll in the UK — had established a clear statistical link between asbestos exposure and lung cancer.
Then came mesothelioma: a rare and invariably fatal cancer of the lining of the lungs and sometimes the abdomen, found to be caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure. The cruelty of mesothelioma — with a latency period of anywhere between 20 and 50 years between exposure and diagnosis — meant that workers exposed during the post-war construction boom were only beginning to develop the disease decades later.
The UK still records over 2,500 mesothelioma deaths annually, a figure that reflects exposure from many decades past. What also emerged through legal proceedings and investigative journalism from the 1970s onwards was that several major asbestos manufacturers had known about the cancer risks for years and actively suppressed the evidence. This remains one of the most damaging episodes of corporate concealment in industrial history.
Regulation and Bans: The Slow Road to Prohibition
Governments moved at different speeds in response to the medical evidence. The picture is complicated by the enormous economic interests involved, particularly in producing nations, and by the challenge of regulating an industry that employed hundreds of thousands of people globally.
Key Milestones in Asbestos Regulation
- Sweden (1982): First country to implement a comprehensive ban on asbestos use
- Denmark (1986): Banned import, manufacture, and sale of asbestos products
- UK (1985): Banned blue (crocidolite) and brown (amosite) asbestos — the most dangerous types
- UK (1999): Extended the ban to cover all forms of asbestos, including white (chrysotile)
- Australia (2003): Comprehensive national ban on all asbestos-containing materials
- Brazil (2017): Banned asbestos following a landmark Supreme Court ruling
- Canada (2018): Implemented a comprehensive ban — a major turning point given Canada’s long history as a leading producer
International Frameworks
Beyond national legislation, several international agreements have shaped the global response:
- The Basel Convention regulates transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, including asbestos-containing materials
- The Rotterdam Convention requires prior informed consent for international trade of hazardous chemicals
- The ILO Asbestos Convention sets safety standards for asbestos in workplaces and calls for national laws to prevent and control exposure
- The World Health Organisation has consistently called for the elimination of all asbestos use globally, citing the absence of a safe level of exposure
Despite these frameworks, asbestos production continues in Russia, China, Kazakhstan, and a number of other countries. The Rotterdam Convention’s listing of chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous substance has repeatedly been blocked by producing nations. The gap between what science demands and what politics permits remains wide.
Where Asbestos Still Exists Today — Including in UK Buildings
More than 60 countries have now banned asbestos. But banning future use does nothing to remove what is already in place. The UK banned all asbestos in 1999, yet the material remains present in an enormous proportion of the country’s building stock.
Any non-domestic building constructed or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos-containing materials (ACMs). Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations, duty holders — those responsible for the maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises — are legally required to manage the risk from asbestos. This means identifying its presence, assessing its condition, and ensuring that anyone liable to disturb it is informed.
The HSE’s guidance document HSG264 sets out in detail how asbestos surveys should be conducted and what duty holders are expected to do. Ignoring these obligations is not a minor administrative oversight — it is a criminal offence that can result in prosecution, unlimited fines, and imprisonment.
The Types of Asbestos Found in UK Buildings
Not all asbestos is the same. The three types most commonly encountered in UK buildings are:
- Chrysotile (white asbestos): The most widely used type globally, found in cement sheets, floor tiles, and insulation boards
- Amosite (brown asbestos): Commonly used in insulation boards and ceiling tiles; considered highly hazardous
- Crocidolite (blue asbestos): Used in spray coatings and pipe insulation; considered the most dangerous type
Blue and brown asbestos were banned in the UK in 1985. White asbestos continued to be used legally until 1999. All three types remain present in buildings constructed or refurbished before those dates.
Common Locations of Asbestos in Buildings
Asbestos can be found in dozens of locations within a typical pre-2000 building:
- Ceiling tiles and textured coatings (such as Artex)
- Floor tiles and the adhesive beneath them
- Pipe and boiler lagging
- Insulation boards around heating systems and in partition walls
- Roof sheeting and guttering in cement products
- Sprayed coatings on structural steelwork
- Gaskets and seals in plant rooms
The challenge is that asbestos is rarely visible or obvious. It was mixed into dozens of different building products, and without professional testing, there is no way to identify it by sight. That is precisely why a professional asbestos survey is the essential first step for any duty holder managing a pre-2000 building.
What This Means for Property Managers and Building Owners in the UK
The global history of asbestos production — from Russian mines to Canadian quarries to South African deposits — ultimately ends in one place: the buildings where people work, study, and receive care across the UK. Russia’s continued status as the world’s largest asbestos producer is a matter of geopolitical concern. The asbestos already embedded in UK buildings is a matter of immediate practical responsibility.
If you manage or own a non-domestic building constructed before 2000, your legal obligations under the Control of Asbestos Regulations are clear. You must know what is in your building, where it is, what condition it is in, and who needs to know about it. Failing to meet those obligations puts workers, contractors, and occupants at risk.
If you are planning refurbishment or demolition work, a management survey alone is not sufficient — you will need a refurbishment and demolition survey, conducted by a competent surveyor, before any intrusive work begins. HSG264 is explicit on this point.
Supernova Asbestos Surveys operates nationwide, with specialist teams covering major cities and regions. Whether you need an asbestos survey in London, an asbestos survey in Manchester, or an asbestos survey in Birmingham, our surveyors are UKAS-accredited and fully trained to HSG264 standards. We have completed over 50,000 surveys across the UK and understand the full range of building types, ages, and complexities involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the largest producer of asbestos in the world today?
Russia is currently the world’s largest producer of asbestos. Production is centred on the city of Asbest in the Ural Mountains, where the Uralasbest open-pit mine is one of the largest asbestos mining operations on earth. Russia exports chrysotile asbestos primarily to Asian markets, including China and India, and continues to mine it in large quantities despite the WHO’s position that all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic.
Is asbestos still being mined and used around the world?
Yes. While over 60 countries have banned asbestos, it continues to be mined and used in significant quantities in Russia, China, Kazakhstan, India, and a number of other nations. Global production has declined substantially from its peak in the late 1970s, but it has not ceased. The Rotterdam Convention’s attempts to restrict international trade in chrysotile asbestos have repeatedly been blocked by producing nations.
Does the UK still have asbestos in its buildings?
Yes, and in very large quantities. The UK banned all asbestos use in 1999, but the material remains present in a significant proportion of buildings constructed or refurbished before that date. Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations, duty holders responsible for non-domestic premises are legally required to manage asbestos risk, which begins with commissioning a professional asbestos survey.
What are the legal requirements for managing asbestos in UK buildings?
The Control of Asbestos Regulations place a duty to manage asbestos on those responsible for the maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises. This requires identifying asbestos-containing materials, assessing their condition and the risk they pose, preparing a written management plan, and ensuring that anyone liable to disturb the materials is made aware of their presence. The HSE’s HSG264 guidance document provides detailed requirements for how surveys must be conducted and recorded.
What type of asbestos survey do I need?
There are two main types. A management survey is used to locate and assess asbestos-containing materials in a building that is in normal occupation and use. A refurbishment and demolition survey is required before any intrusive work — including renovation, fit-out, or demolition — takes place. The refurbishment survey is more intrusive by design, as it must locate all ACMs in areas that will be disturbed. HSG264 sets out the requirements for both survey types in detail.
Get Expert Asbestos Advice from Supernova
Supernova Asbestos Surveys has completed over 50,000 surveys across the UK, working with property managers, local authorities, housing associations, schools, and commercial landlords. Our surveyors are UKAS-accredited and trained to the standards set out in HSG264.
If you manage a building constructed before 2000 and are unsure of your obligations — or if you need a survey booked quickly — contact our team today. Call us on 020 4586 0680 or visit asbestos-surveys.org.uk to request a quote. Don’t wait for a refurbishment to find out what’s in your building.