1. Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and there is no safe level of asbestos exposure
2. Only 55 countries have banned asbestos. The United States and Canada are the only two industrial western nations not to ban asbestos
3. Top 5 asbestos producers reported by USGS: Russia (1,000,000), China (400,000), Brazil (270,000), Kazakhstan (214,000) and Canada (100,000) *metric tons
4. Top 5 asbestos users reported by USGS: China (613,760), India (426,363), Russia (263,037), Brazil (139,153) and Indonesia (111,848) *metric tons
5. More than 107,000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases