Angela Eagle, environment minister, announced the introduction of a complete ban on the import, supply and use of all forms of asbestos. This would lead to a significant reduction in overall risk to health, she said.
White asbestos is still imported as raw fibre. It is used in corrugated sheet and roof tiles in the building trade. Brown and blue are already outlawed in the UK and European Union.
About 3,500 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases.
- Financial Times 19/06/07 page 7
