DOES THAT PRODUCT, MADE IN CHINA, YOU BOUGHT AT THE STORE CONTAIN ASBESTOS?

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Every year approximately 3000 people in the United States die from mesothelioma, an incurable cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.  Though most Americans believe asbestos was banned in the United States in the late 1970’s, the United States government has not yet enacted legislation providing for a comprehensive ban of asbestos in the manufacture of all consumer products.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it is illegal under Federal Law to use asbestos in the manufacture of following products:

* Most spray-applied surfacing asbestos containing materials.

* Sprayed-on application of materials containing more than 1% asbestos to buildings, structures, pipes, and conduits unless the material is encapsulated with a bituminous or resinous binder during spraying and the materials are not friable after drying.

* Wet-applied and pre-formed asbestos pipe insulation, and pre-formed asbestos block insulation on boilers and hot water tanks.

* Corrugated paper, rollboard, commercial paper, specialty paper, flooring felt.

However, companies are not banned from using asbestos in the manufacture all other products.

Some examples of asbestos containing products not banned include: asbestos-cement corrugated sheet, asbestos-cement flat sheet, asbestos clothing, pipeline wrap, roofing felt, vinyl-asbestos floor tile, asbestos-cement shingle, millboard, asbestos-cement pipe, automatic transmission components, clutch facings, friction materials, disc brake pads, drum brake linings, brake blocks, gaskets, non-roofing coatings, and roof coatings.

The matter becomes even more concerning, when considering that the largest supplier of goods imported to the United States in 2010, China, has become the world’s largest asbestos consumer.

In China, more than 400 factories turn out 300 million square meters of asbestos sheeting for roofs and walls; while other Chinese factories make asbestos brake pads, gaskets, cloth, and other component materials that are incorporated into larger machinery. The industry’s main lobby group, the China Non-Metalic Materials Industry Association insists that chrysotile, or white, asbestos, the most widely used form of the mineral, can be handled safely. This disturbing assertion, becomes terrifying when the number of products coming into the United States from China is brought into focus.

U.S. goods imports from China totaled $365 billion in 2010, a 23.1 % increase ($68.6 billion) from 2009, and up 841% over the last 16 years. U.S. imports from China accounted for 19.1% of overall U.S. imports in 2010. The five largest import categories in 2010 were: Electrical Machinery ($90.8 billion), Machinery ($82.7 billion), Toys and Sports Equipment ($25.0 billion), Furniture and Bedding ($20.0 billion), and Footwear ($15.9 billion).

Why is the increase in products imported from China a public safety concern for those trying to avoid exposure to asbestos?

In the United States, where asbestos is blamed for taking some 200,000 lives and the industry has paid out $70 billion in damages and litigation costs, asbestos use has been curtailed to a large degree as result of litigation’s effect on the industry. Companies don’t want to be sued for exposing people to asbestos and causing asbestos related diseases.

Chinese companies, however, need not worry about the same level of litigation arising as a result of their use asbestos, and therefore may be less inclined to cease using the fiber in their manufacturing processes. Bringing a lawsuit against a Chinese company is exceedingly difficult. A Chinese company can only be sued in an American court if it does business on American soil. Even if you can sue in the Untied States, Chinese Courts do not recognize judgments from U.S. Courts.  So in most cases lawsuits must be filed in China. It also can be very difficult to identify the right Chinese manufacturer to sue. The scarcity of regulation of Chinese business practices make investigations and evidence-gathering cumbersome and frustrating. Headquarters offices, once found, are often bare-bones operations. Records may be spotty or nonexistent. Unaffected by court orders, the level of cooperation is low. Getting records can be virtually impossible. As a result, experts estimate that a lawsuit against a Chinese company typically lasts 10 years and costs five times as much as a normal case. Without the threat of litigation, and absent a United States ban on the use of asbestos, the concern that there is nothing to prevent Chinese companies from incorporating asbestos fiber into their manufacturing processes, appear justified.

So what action should the American consumer take, to protect themselves from exposure to asbestos that may be contained in products made in China?

We asked asbestoslegalcenter.org attorney, and broadcast radio public safety advocate, Raymond Mueller, (mueller@asbestoslegalcenter.org) who has spent the majority of his career representing mesothelioma and lung cancer patients who were exposed to asbestos:  ”All the consumer can do is remain as informed as possible, by looking to see where the product they are purchasing was manufactured, and what ingredients it contains.”, Mueller said. “There are 55 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Japan, that have banned the use of asbestos. Frankly, it is disturbing and disappointing that the United States still has not enacted such a ban, given that it is estimated that 1000 U.S. Armed Forces veterans die every year as a result of exposure to asbestos that they experienced during their military service.”

According to Mueller, “it is completely reasonable, if you are working with construction materials, automobile friction parts like clutches, gaskets, and brake linings, or anything heat resistant, even duct tape, and you have the choice of choosing a product made in China, or a competitor product made in a country that has banned asbestos, to choose the product manufactured in the asbestos free country. This is probably the easiest way to minimize the risk that you will unknowingly expose yourself and your loved ones to asbestos.”

And as for the future of asbestos manufacturing in the United States and China?

“If avoiding exposure to asbestos is important to you, as it should be, don’t just use good common sense in the purchasing of construction and automobile parts by avoiding Chinese made products, but contact your local Congressmen and Senators, and let them know you want them to support legislation enacting a Federal ban on the use of asbestos in the United States.  There are already millions of tons of asbestos containing material in our cities and homes. We really don’t need to import or manufacture anymore of it in the United States, increasing the risk that future generations, our children, will suffer and die from asbestos caused diseases.”