4.16.3.1 Availability and Consumption

In 1997 China's total asbestos production was 437,000 tons. If the amount of some poor-quality short-fiber asbestos and every year's stock inventory are deducted, the actual amount that can be supplied exceeds 300,000 tons, but the actual demand is less than 350,000 tons; so it is apparent that supply exceeds demand.

Asbestos of China is chiefly used as raw material of asbestos products. The output of China's asbestos in 1997 was 311,400 tons. The consumption of asbestos cement products was greatest, accounting for about 50% of the total consumption. Next comes the consumption of asbestos friction products, which makes up about 20%; the asbestos sealing product takes up 10%, the asbestos heat-insulating product about 10%, and others about 10%. In terms of the quantity, supply and demand are basically in balance, but in terms of the varieties, the supply of long-fiber asbestos is insufficient, while the supply of short-fiber asbestos is more than sufficient. China need to import a part of long-fiber asbestos from abroad every year.

In recent years Russian asbestos has found a good market in China. It is not only good in quality but its price is also 28 to 33% lower than that of the asbestos of the same quality produced in China. The import of large amount of Russian asbestos (28,000 tons in 1993, up to 103,000 tons in 1997 and 71,000 tons in 1998) has greatly impacted China's asbestos market, and particularly the production and marketing of asbestos mines in western China. By the end of 1996 the asbestos stock inventory in China's major asbestos-producing areas had reached about 70,000 tons.

Asbestos produced in China mainly supplies domestic consumption, and little of it is exported and all that is exported is medium- and short-fiber asbestos. Recently exports have increased somewhat. In 1998 exports reached 18,500 tons. Exported asbestos is chiefly long-fiber asbestos, which make up for shortages of long-fiber asbestos at home. China's imports and exports of asbestos from 1994 to 1997 are shown in Table 4.16.6, and imports and exports of asbestos products are presented in Table 4.16.7.

Table 4.16.6 China's imports and exports of asbestos from 1994 to 1997

4.16.3.2 Trends

The survival and development of the asbestos industry are affected by the policies of mining and use laid down by governments of various countries as well as the substitution and application degree of asbestos. Many countries have formulated relavent laws and regulations to restrict the production and use of asbestos. Up to now, however, no material can completely substitute asbestos in relation to various performances and price. Many good performances of asbestos still attract some industrial sectors. Although many developed countries talk profusely about the harm of asbestos, they do not totally prohibit the use of asbestos. There is still much controversy over various laws and regulations about the prohibition of using asbestos, and quite a few developing countries are still ready to use cheap and useful asbestos products.

There is a large gap between China as a developing country and major consuming countries in respect to the production and use of asbestos. Although China ranks first in asbestos reserves in the world, its asbestos production only accounts for about 10% of the world's production. From the consumation structure, over 70% of the world's demand for asbestos is used in the manufacture of asbestos cement products, while in China only about 50% is used in this respect. Besides, short-fiber asbestos has not been used and developed in large amount in many items such as floor bricks, wall panels and road pavement in China; whereas foreign countries mainly use short-fiber asbestos in the manufacture of various kinds of products. Therefore, to develop new application fields and strengthen dust control are two key problems in the future development of the asbestos industry in China.

China has abundant asbestos resources, but as the proportion of medium- and short-fiber asbestos is high, grade VI and VII asbestos has a large proportion and, in addition, only half of VI-grade asbestos is used and almost no VII-grade asbestos has been utilized. According to the present technical and economic conditions and status of resources, it is estimated that the utilization factor of asbestos in China is only about 1/3. The existing resources can meet the demand of the national economic development from the present to 2010. However, the long-fiber asbestos now can only meet less than 50% of the demand. Considering that the asbestos production will continue to be transferred to northwestern China in the future and that the proportion of short-fiber asbestos in the asbestos produced in the northwestern China is much higher, a part of long-fiber asbestos will still be imported from abroad.

The dusts produced during mining and benefication operations in asbestos mines and processing and manufacture of products greatly exceed those produced by other minerals. These dusts have higher biochemical activity and are one of carcinogenic substances, and if significant amounts of such dusts are taken in by human bodies men will suffer from pulmonary asbestosis and cancer. According to investigation made by the Ministry of Public Heath of China, by the end of 1996 up to more than 0.5 million Chinese asbestos workers suffered from asbestosis and more than one hundred thousand of them has died because they took such dusts for a long time. Therefore, it is very important to prevent asbestos dusts. The Chinese Government has attached great importance to this problem. As at present beneficiation and processing are still dry operations, dedusting and ventilation are still the main method of dust prevention. The dust-generating sites are sealed locally or wholly, and dust is absorbed into pipes by fans and sent to various kinds of dedusters and only then can the purified air be exhausted into the atmosphere. Only by treating well asbestos dust, preventing environmental pollution and protecting the health of operators, can the asbestos industry develop in a sustained way. It is estimated that asbestos will continue to serve the human being in a rather long period of time to come.