Which Countries Have Banned Asbestos — and Why the Global Fight Is Far From Over
Asbestos kills. In the UK, that is accepted fact — all six types are prohibited, and the Control of Asbestos Regulations place clear, enforceable duties on anyone responsible for managing buildings where legacy material may still be present. But for a significant portion of the world’s population, asbestos remains a daily reality: in the roofing above their heads, the pipes running through their walls, and the brake pads fitted to their vehicles.
The number of asbestos banned countries has grown considerably over the past three decades. More than 60 nations have now prohibited all forms of the material. Yet a substantial number of countries — many of them low- and middle-income economies — still mine, import, manufacture, and use asbestos without meaningful safety controls.
Understanding where asbestos is banned, where it is not, and why the gap persists is essential context for anyone working in property, construction, or occupational health — whether in the UK or internationally.
The Global Picture: Where Asbestos Use Stands Today
Global asbestos consumption dropped sharply from its peak in the late 1970s, when production exceeded four million tonnes per year. Bans across Europe, North America, and Australia drove much of that reduction. But the decline has not been uniform.
As developed nations exited the market, consumption shifted east and south. Asia now accounts for the majority of global asbestos use. India remains the world’s largest importer of chrysotile (white) asbestos, using it predominantly in asbestos cement products — roofing sheets, pressure pipes, and flat sheets used in low-cost housing construction.
Russia, Kazakhstan, and China continue to be the dominant producers. Russia’s Ural chrysotile industry still operates at considerable scale, and its government has actively lobbied against international restrictions on chrysotile exports. The result is a deeply uneven global landscape, where workers in some countries enjoy robust legal protections while those in others face daily exposure with no meaningful safeguards.
Which Countries Have Banned Asbestos?
The list of asbestos banned countries now includes most of Europe, North America, Australia, Japan, and a growing number of developing economies. The European Union enforced a full ban across member states, and the UK maintained and strengthened that position through its own domestic legislation.
Several significant bans have come from major developing economies in recent years, each driven by a combination of health advocacy, legal challenge, and political pressure from affected communities. None of these bans were inevitable — each was the direct result of sustained campaigning by health groups, workers’ organisations, and mesothelioma victims’ families.
Brazil
Once one of the world’s largest asbestos producers and exporters, Brazil enacted a comprehensive ban following a Supreme Court ruling that prohibited the mining, commercialisation, and use of asbestos nationwide. This was a landmark decision driven by decades of advocacy from health groups and mesothelioma victims’ organisations.
It demonstrated that even entrenched asbestos industries can be defeated through sustained legal and public pressure — a lesson with relevance far beyond Brazil’s borders.
Colombia
Colombia implemented a complete ban on asbestos production, use, and commercialisation, with a transition period to allow industries to adapt and provisions for removing asbestos from existing buildings. The Colombian experience highlighted the importance of building practical support for affected industries into the legislative process, rather than simply imposing prohibition overnight.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka banned asbestos imports and use, backed by a government programme to replace asbestos roofing with alternative materials. Given how widely asbestos cement roofing was used across the country, the transition required both legislative will and investment in accessible, affordable substitutes.
Vietnam
Vietnam committed to phasing out chrysotile asbestos, with particular focus on the roofing sector and investment in domestic alternative materials. The phased approach acknowledged the economic realities facing lower-income households while setting a clear direction of travel.
Nepal and Laos
Nepal banned all forms of asbestos, including imports and sales of asbestos-containing products. Laos implemented a ban on chrysotile asbestos, following an earlier prohibition on the more hazardous amphibole types.
Both decisions reflected the influence of international health organisations providing technical support to governments with limited regulatory infrastructure.
Countries Where Asbestos Remains in Use
Despite the progress, a significant number of countries continue to permit asbestos use. These include major economies such as India, Russia, China, and several nations across Central Asia, parts of Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
In some of these countries, regulations exist on paper but enforcement is weak. In others, there is no meaningful regulatory framework at all. The result is that workers and communities are exposed to asbestos without the protections that have been standard in the UK for decades.
The scale of this problem should not be underestimated. Millions of workers in construction, manufacturing, and maintenance are exposed to asbestos fibres on a daily basis — and the health consequences will not become fully apparent for another 20 to 50 years, given the long latency period of asbestos-related diseases.
What Asbestos-Related Diseases Are at Stake?
To understand why expanding the number of asbestos banned countries matters so much, you need to understand what is at stake medically. Asbestos exposure is the sole known cause of mesothelioma — an aggressive cancer of the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart.
It is also a major cause of asbestosis, a chronic scarring of lung tissue that progressively reduces breathing capacity, and it significantly increases the risk of lung cancer, particularly in smokers. Pleural disease — thickening and scarring of the membranes surrounding the lungs — is another well-documented consequence. None of these conditions has a cure.
What makes this particularly devastating from a public health perspective is the latency period. Mesothelioma typically develops 20 to 50 years after initial exposure. Workers exposed in the 1980s and 1990s in countries that used asbestos heavily are only now beginning to develop disease. The true human cost of current asbestos use in developing nations will not become fully visible for decades.
How Awareness Is Driving Change
The Role of International Health Organisations
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) have been consistent advocates for a global asbestos ban. Their position is unambiguous: there is no safe level of asbestos exposure, and the only way to eliminate asbestos-related disease is to stop using asbestos entirely.
Both organisations have funded awareness campaigns, produced technical guidance for governments, and supported occupational health training in countries where asbestos is still used. The ILO’s work on occupational safety standards has been particularly influential in shaping national legislation across parts of Asia, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa.
Improved Medical Diagnosis
Historically, mesothelioma and asbestosis were frequently misdiagnosed or simply missed in countries without specialist respiratory medicine infrastructure. Increased training for healthcare workers has improved diagnostic rates in some regions.
Better diagnosis matters beyond the individual patient. When healthcare systems begin recording asbestos-related diseases accurately, governments are confronted with real data. It becomes considerably harder to dismiss asbestos as a manageable risk when hospitals are reporting clusters of mesothelioma cases linked to occupational exposure.
Workers and Trade Unions Pushing for Change
Awareness does not just influence policymakers — it changes how workers perceive their own risk. In countries where asbestos use continues, trade unions and workers’ rights organisations have increasingly used health information to push for better protective equipment, improved ventilation, and ultimately, phase-outs of asbestos-containing materials.
This grassroots pressure has been particularly effective in Brazil and parts of Southeast Asia, where labour movements have translated public health information into political momentum for legislative change. The pattern is consistent: bans rarely come from the top down. They are driven by organised workers, affected families, medical professionals, and NGOs building sustained public pressure over years.
Why Asbestos Use Persists Despite the Evidence
If the health case against asbestos is so clear, why is it still being used at all? The answer is almost always economic — and it is more complicated than it might first appear.
Cost and Availability
Chrysotile asbestos cement roofing sheets are cheap. In countries where annual construction budgets are measured in tens of dollars per square metre rather than hundreds, that cost gap is decisive. Fibre cement alternatives, metal roofing, and polymer materials are all viable substitutes — but they cost more.
Until alternatives reach price parity, or governments subsidise the transition, economic pressure will continue to sustain asbestos demand in some markets. This is not a failure of knowledge — it is a failure of economics and political will.
The Chrysotile Controversy
The asbestos industry — led by producers in Russia and supported by well-funded lobby groups — has for decades promoted the argument that chrysotile asbestos is safer than the amphibole types (amosite and crocidolite) that caused the worst of the UK’s asbestos disease burden. This so-called “controlled use” argument claims that chrysotile, used with appropriate precautions, poses an acceptable risk.
The WHO and the majority of independent toxicologists reject this position. Chrysotile causes mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. The “controlled use” framework has nonetheless been effective in delaying bans in several countries, particularly where the asbestos industry carries political influence and where regulatory capacity is limited.
Weak Regulatory Enforcement
Even where laws exist, enforcement is often inadequate. Countries with limited inspection infrastructure, undertrained occupational health officials, and insufficient penalties for non-compliance struggle to implement asbestos regulations effectively.
A ban on paper does not protect workers if contractors continue using asbestos-containing materials without consequence. Building a functioning regulatory system — with trained inspectors, accessible reporting mechanisms, and meaningful sanctions — takes time and resources that many developing nations are still working to secure.
The Legacy Problem: Existing Asbestos in Buildings
Countries that used asbestos heavily in the 20th century now face an enormous stock of asbestos-containing buildings, pipework, and infrastructure. Managing that legacy requires professional surveys, safe removal, and proper disposal — all of which demand resources and expertise.
The problem of new asbestos use and the problem of existing asbestos in the built environment are linked but distinct challenges. Even countries that have banned asbestos must still manage decades of legacy material in their existing building stock.
In the UK, this is precisely why the Control of Asbestos Regulations place ongoing duties on building owners and managers. The ban on new asbestos use was only the beginning — the harder, longer work is identifying and managing what was already installed. HSE guidance under HSG264 provides the framework for how asbestos surveys should be conducted, and that framework exists because legacy asbestos remains a live risk even in a country that banned the material decades ago.
If you manage a property in a major UK city, professional surveying is not optional. Whether you need an asbestos survey in London, are responsible for a building in the North West, or oversee a portfolio of properties across the Midlands, the duty to manage asbestos applies regardless of the building’s age or condition.
What the UK’s Experience Teaches the Rest of the World
The UK’s journey with asbestos offers a useful case study for countries still navigating the transition away from the material. The UK was once one of the world’s heaviest users of asbestos — it was used extensively in shipbuilding, construction, insulation, and manufacturing from the late 19th century through to the 1980s.
The consequences were catastrophic. The UK continues to record some of the highest rates of mesothelioma of any country globally — a direct legacy of that industrial-era exposure. The lesson is stark: the health costs of asbestos use do not appear immediately. They accumulate silently over decades, and by the time the disease burden becomes undeniable, an entire generation of workers has already been exposed.
Countries still using asbestos today are not avoiding that outcome — they are delaying it. The mesothelioma cases that will result from current exposure in India, Russia, and elsewhere will not peak for decades. When they do, the scale will be significant.
What Good Asbestos Regulation Looks Like
Based on the UK model and international best practice, effective asbestos regulation requires several things working together:
- A clear legislative ban on the import, manufacture, and use of all asbestos types
- A legal duty on building owners and managers to identify and manage existing asbestos-containing materials
- Mandatory professional surveys before demolition, refurbishment, or significant maintenance work
- Licensed contractors for high-risk removal work, with enforceable standards
- A functioning inspection regime with meaningful penalties for non-compliance
- Public health infrastructure capable of diagnosing and recording asbestos-related diseases accurately
None of this happens overnight. But the UK’s experience shows it is achievable — and the human cost of delay is measured in lives.
Asbestos Management in the UK Today
For property managers, landlords, and building owners in the UK, the regulatory picture is clear. If your building was constructed before the year 2000, it may contain asbestos-containing materials. You have a legal duty to manage that risk — and that duty begins with knowing what you have.
A management survey, conducted in accordance with HSG264, identifies the location, type, and condition of any asbestos-containing materials in your building and informs an asbestos management plan. A refurbishment and demolition survey goes further, providing the detailed information required before any intrusive work begins.
If your building is in the North West, a professional asbestos survey in Manchester from an experienced local team ensures your legal obligations are met and your building’s occupants are protected. The same applies across the country — from the capital to the regions.
For those managing commercial or residential property in the West Midlands, an asbestos survey in Birmingham conducted by qualified surveyors provides the evidence base you need to manage asbestos safely and comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations.
The Road Ahead: Can a Global Ban Be Achieved?
The trend line is clear: the number of asbestos banned countries is increasing, and the scientific consensus against asbestos use has never been stronger. But progress is uneven, and the remaining holdouts include some of the world’s most populous nations.
What will accelerate the transition? Several factors are likely to be decisive:
- Falling costs of alternatives: As fibre cement, metal, and polymer roofing materials become cheaper and more widely available, the economic argument for chrysotile weakens.
- Improved disease surveillance: As healthcare systems in developing nations improve, the true burden of asbestos-related disease will become harder to ignore politically.
- International trade pressure: Countries with asbestos bans increasingly apply scrutiny to imports from nations that continue to use the material, creating economic incentives for change.
- Legal action: As affected workers and their families gain access to legal systems, litigation against asbestos producers and users creates financial pressure for industry change — as it did in Brazil.
- Continued advocacy: The work of organisations like the Ban Asbestos Network and global mesothelioma patient groups keeps the issue on political agendas.
The goal of a truly global asbestos ban is achievable. But it requires sustained pressure, international cooperation, and — critically — the political will to prioritise workers’ health over short-term construction economics.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many countries have banned asbestos?
More than 60 countries have now banned all forms of asbestos, including all EU member states, the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, and a growing number of developing nations. However, a significant number of countries — including India, Russia, and China — continue to permit asbestos use in various forms.
Is asbestos still being produced anywhere in the world?
Yes. Russia and Kazakhstan remain the world’s largest producers of chrysotile (white) asbestos. China also produces asbestos domestically. Russia in particular continues to export chrysotile to developing nations, particularly in Asia and parts of Africa, where it is used primarily in asbestos cement construction products.
Why haven’t all countries banned asbestos if it is so dangerous?
The primary barrier is economic. Chrysotile asbestos cement products — particularly roofing sheets — are significantly cheaper than available alternatives in many low- and middle-income countries. The asbestos industry has also actively lobbied against bans, promoting the disputed “controlled use” argument. Weak regulatory enforcement and limited occupational health infrastructure compound the problem in some nations.
Does the UK still have an asbestos problem despite the ban?
Yes. The UK banned asbestos, but a large proportion of buildings constructed before the year 2000 still contain asbestos-containing materials installed during the decades when asbestos was widely used. The Control of Asbestos Regulations place a legal duty on building owners and managers to identify and manage this legacy material. The UK also continues to record significant numbers of mesothelioma deaths annually — a consequence of past exposure rather than current use.
What should I do if I think my building contains asbestos?
Do not disturb any material you suspect may contain asbestos. Commission a professional asbestos management survey from a qualified surveyor working to HSG264 standards. The survey will identify the location, type, and condition of any asbestos-containing materials and provide the basis for a compliant asbestos management plan. If you are planning refurbishment or demolition work, a more detailed refurbishment and demolition survey is required before work begins.
Get Expert Help Today
If you need professional advice on asbestos in your property, our team of qualified surveyors is ready to help. With over 50,000 surveys completed across the UK, Supernova Asbestos Surveys delivers clear, actionable reports you can rely on.
Call us on 020 4586 0680 or visit asbestos-surveys.org.uk for a free, no-obligation quote.