CASITILE, THE NEW ASBESTOS: Time to clear the air and save £20 billion By: Professor John Bridle and Sophie Stone MSc BSc (Hons) INTRODUCTION: One of the biggest costs to those responsible for Britain’s built-environment is now

One of the biggest costs to those responsible for Britain’s built-environment is now that involved in the management of asbestos. Under the current regulatory regime, these costs have been estimated at many billions of pounds. The purpose of this review is to show how recent research has demonstrated that much of the concern over what is generically known as ‘asbestos’ is based on a fundamental scientific confusion. If the lessons of these studies can be properly learned, it will be seen that a very high proportion of the costs involved in the management of asbestos could be avoided, with immense savings to the national economy.