In an earlier publication [Harington and McGlashan, 1998], we described the South African trade in asbestos from 1959 to 1993. We now wish to bring the subject up to date.
In 1997 France decided that any imports of asbestos or its products would be illegal. Two other member countries of the European Union, the United Kingdom and Belgium, proposed legislation to prohibit asbestos usage [SAMI, 1997/98, p 135].
Over 1994±97 the total labor force in the asbestos industry in South Africa continued to fall due to the closure of mines: 2230 men employed in 1994 , 2182 in 1995 , 1613 in 1996 , and 1003 in 1997 [SAMI, 1997/98, p 138]/98, p 138].
By the end of 1993, export of amosite had ceased entirely and that of crocidolite had dropped to 5% of its peak in the late 1970s. On the other hand, trade up to 1993 in chrysolite had held ®rm. However, by 1996, production of this ®ber dropped by 37% and it was predicted that all underground operations at the largest mine, producing over 97% of the ®ber, would come to a halt by the turn of the century.
After 1993, production of crocidolite continued to fall steadily: 15,387 tons in 1994, 9819 in 1995 and 8547 in 1996 [pers comm., Griqualand Exploration & Finance Co. (Gefco)]. In 1995 all underground production, and in 1996 all milling operations, came to a halt permanently. In early 1997, when only some 886 tons had been produced, all mining operations ceased, the last remaining exports for 1998 being taken from fast-dwindling stockpiles [SAMI, 1996/97, p 147; 1997/98, p 136].
Thus, almost 40 years after the association of malignant mesothelioma with exposure to crocidolite in South Africa was ®rst established [Wagner et al., 1960], all trade in this ®ber came to a halt. The only other producer of crocidolite, Wittenoom Gorge in Western Australia, had run only from 1937 to 1966 [Musk et al., 1992].