Asbestos in Sweden
While a number of countries that are currently suffering from an increasing number of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis cases due to asbestos exposure caused
by mining within their borders, Sweden’s history with the substance is
much more brief and limited only to exports used as part of the war
recovery efforts in the mid-1900s.
Sweden’s first experiences with asbestos
came following World War II when large amounts of it were imported into
the country to help build homes and ships. However, after only a few
decades, the first limitations on asbestos use in some workplaces in
Europe were instituted in the 1970s. Sweden was among the first
countries to accept the limitations and suddenly cut back their usage of
the mineral in 1976.
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However, the damage caused in the three decades that Sweden saw
widespread usage of asbestos had already been done. According to an
article published in Industrial Health 2007 titled “Malignant
Mesothelioma: Global Incidence and Relationship with Asbestos,” annual
new pleural mesothelioma cases among men increased from 15 in 1969 to 89
in 2001 and has hovered near 100 for some time.
Additionally, it was found that the volume of mesothelioma cases were higher in counties that had contained large shipyards.
However, there has been increased optimism that, because Sweden was
quick to adopt stricter regulations regarding asbestos in the 1970s,
that the number of asbestos-related disease diagnoses was at or near its
peak. Because of the long latency period before any symptoms of
mesothelioma make themselves known, a 2004 report in the British Journal
of Cancer predicted that cases could reach their highest figure between
2003 and 2013 before beginning to decline.
Sweden went on to institute further asbestos laws
and ban the use, processing, and treatment of asbestos products in
1982, only allowing it to be used when no better alternative was
available. A 2003 report from the Swedish Work Environment Authority
found that no new products that use asbestos have been produced in the
country since 1996, leaving the few remaining risks of asbestos exposure
in the country at sites where old buildings are being torn down.