In the UK we can be grateful that exposure to asbestos for the ordinary person is rare. Though its dangers were obscured for generations, its eventual total ban in 1999 meant that workers and British citizens were finally afforded the protection they needed. Unfortunately, the same lies that the asbestos industry asked us to swallow in the 60s and 70s are still being repeated in other parts in the world. Amongst others, Russia and Kazakhstan still mine asbestos and countries like India still import millions of tons of it every year. Those that suffer most are rarely those that own the mines or make vast profits from cheap building materials.