THE CARCINOGENICITY OF CHRYSOTILE ASBESTOS:
Is the Evidence Sufficient for a Global Ban?

Dr. Arthur M. Langer is a professor and deputy executive officer of the Ph.D. program in earth and environmental sciences at the City University of New York. Replies to this guest editorial are welcome.

icBendicy now, in the year 2001, most investigators in the asbestos field would agree that chrysotile can be a causal agent in the etiology of some forms of malignancy in humans. ?ost?means that the vote is not unanimous.

These investigators would further accept, without much discussion, that the fiber carcinogen follows a linear dose-response relationship for lung cancer, at least at high exposure levels. However, …