The UK government has announced plans to impose a complete ban on the import, supply and use of asbestos in all its forms in the UK. Although both blue and brown asbestos have been officially banned in the UK for some time, it is still legal to import white asbestos (chrysotile) either as a raw fibre or as formed products such as vehicle brake linings, corrugated sheets and roof tiles. It is not year clear when the new ban will become effective but the government is understood to have requested the Health & Safety Commission to assist it in preparing an effective mechanism for enforcing the regulation. Around 3500 people are believed to die each year from asbestos-related diseases, although many of these will have been exposed to the substance long before it became legal.
