Asbestos in South Africa
After becoming one of the most prominent exporters of asbestos
during the late-1800 and 1900s, South Africa has been able to
completely shift its stance on asbestos use while transforming itself
into an example of how to effectively institute mesothelioma laws and ban the use of the dangerous fibers.
South Africa was a leading manufacturer of asbestos
for much of the twentieth century, as many of its mines were owned and
operated by British companies including Cape Asbestos Pty, Turner &
Newell, and Griqualand Exploration and Finance Company Limited.
According to the European Trade Union Institute, asbestos output peaked
at 379,000 tons in 1977 before new operations in Canada and Russia
created competition and led to the closure of many mines.
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Additionally, because many of the European companies did not choose
to apply safety standards that would have been required in their
homeland, by the 1980s workers in some South African mines were being
exposed to more than 250 times the levels of asbestos fibers in the air
that workers in British companies were dealing with.
Following the end of apartheid and the desire for many South Africans
to rid themselves of any reminders of their British oppressors during
that part of their history, the phase out of asbestos from their culture
and economy has been easier to get achieved than it has been in many
other areas. Following the stoppage of mining in the 2000s, the use,
processing, manufacturing, import, and export of asbestos or
asbestos-laden materials was banned altogether in 2008.
Additionally, the ETUI reported that 7,500 former miners and their families received the first out-of-court mesothelioma settlements in 2001 from Cape plc for damages caused to their health in asbestos mines. Other mesothelioma lawsuits
against companies that ran unsafe asbestos mines have been introduced
by former South African miners in the time that has passed since.