Asbestos News

As in the U.S., use of asbestos in the Netherlands has been tightly restricted for several decades. Still, incidental and occupational exposure to the mineral is fairly common, and a recent report by a pair of Dutch scientists suggests that the currently used measures of asbestos exposure are not sensitive enough to yield proper risk reports.

Researchers from the University of Utrecht and Rotterdam's Department of Public Health stated as much in a recent issue of the journal Annals of Occupational Hygiene. They recommended that the limits of asbestos exposure deemed "acceptable" be reduced as much as 40-fold.

This recommendation follows a report issued by the Health Council of the Netherlands, which examined the deaths of 14 women with mesothelioma. These individuals had lived near an asbestos cement factory, which, though abandoned, had given away free asbestos waste for 40 years, allowing local residents to harden their driveways with the material.

Scientists said that current guidelines on asbestos exposure are not strict enough, since demolition of older buildings can bring innumerable people into contact with the dangerous mineral.

The World Health Organization estimates that 125 million people are exposed to asbestos annually.