Asbestos In The Best Interest Of Whom?

I was appalled to read an August 12 AP news report about asbestos production in India being hailed as a form of social welfare, a way to save lives and elevate the living standards of some of the world’s poorest people. India is already the world’s biggest importer of asbestos, which they say provides 300,000 jobs. Guess who the world’s biggest exporter is? Russia.

Are they completely overlooking the fact that asbestos has been linked to deadly diseases like lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis, sometimes developing 20 to 40 years after exposure? Or that dozens of countries — including Japan, Argentina and all European Union nations — have banned it entirely, and others, like the U.S., have severely curbed its use?