Asbestos banned in Argentina

Abstract

In 1997, Argentina gave priority to asbestos in its National Plan for the Sound Management of Chemicals, and it was the subject of a Technical Task Force on Occupational Cancer. After five years of public hearings in which government, workers, industry advocates, environmentalists, clinicians, scientists, and consumers participated, it was agreed that asbestos exposure is a risk factor for both workers and the general population, and that Argentina should provide to its people the same protections adopted by many developed countries. Pressure from asbestos industry groups initially delayed the inclusion of chrysotile asbestos in the proposed ban, but on January 1, 2003, the mining and import of all forms of asbestos were banned in Argentina.