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I saw a mini-documentary today from a German show in English called In Focus, it was an expose on asbestos contained in Chinese produced thermoses.

The documentary and as an example this website claim that asbestos is quite prevalent in Chinese produced thermoses and can easily get through undetected and onto the market.

China, the world's factory, is still using the deadly mineral in products such as thermos flasks and sealing rings for the international market. And the estimated number of unreported uses is high because there are hardly any controls.

Here is an example of a German recall of a flask that was discovered to contain asbestos.

How prevalent is asbestos in Chinese manufactured goods (outside of China) and does the use of asbestos in products pose a serious health risk? Is it a non-issue and something that is being detected on the off-chance that it happens or is it a common material that is being included in toys and other products?

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The question of whether asbestos is dangerous enough to justify the language on that united-docs could probably stand on its own. From reading that, you'd think it was dangerous to look at the stuff. – dtanders Oct 13 '11 at 13:49
Australia has forced recalls of around 24,000 Chinese manufactured cars due to asbestos components being used. They were again mainly asbestos gaskets and seals, as stated in the question. – jozzas Sep 3 '12 at 0:56

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