Presence of Asbestos in Albania, an Approach

Asbestos fibers have been widely used in the world but also in Albania. Being in contact with it is a daily risk to human life. Asbestos is also known as the silent killer. There are 2300 Asbestos based products worldwide. In our country the most widespread product is Eternite which has a content of 30% asbestos and 70% cement. Cement mixes very well with Asbestos fibers isolating them. During time cement collapse and losses, its physical properties by many factors including atmospheric ones causing the Asbestos fibers to expose themselves in the surrounding area. As a consequence of being microscopic, they penetrate to the human body endangering our lives. In the 60s and 80s in US, anti-Asbesto campaigns started for the first time, while in the EU it started very late in 1992 and unfortunately also during that period in developing countries this dangerous material was still being used endangering the lives of people. Every year over 100,000 people around the world die from incurable diseases caused by asbestos. In 2012, the use of Asbestos was strictly banned in European Union countries, including Israel.