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Asbestos related diseases and ban of asbestos in Croatia

Since 1945 Croatia, as many other countries, still has asbestos exposure problems regarding shipbuilding and asbestos cement industry. The first cases of asbestosis were reported in 1961. The asbestos exposed people were medically examined at the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, in Zagreb, Croatia. The current Croatian law does not ban the manufacture and import of asbestos. The Croatian Institute of Public Health has recorded a total of 317 cases of asbestosis from 1990 to 2000. The Croatian Cancer Registry recorded a total of 248 persons diagnosed malignant pleural mesothelioma between 1991 and 1997. Two thirds of patients with mentioned malignancy have been verified for occupational exposure to asbestos. Croatia as a transitional country is often a subject to rash and radical socioeconomic adaptations to global standards and future approach to the asbestos issue will depend on revised regulations, which are expected to conform to recommendations of the European Union by 2005.

asbestos exposure; asbestosis; pleural mesothelioma

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