Controlled business of white asbestos in Vietnam: Policy perspectives and cooperation with Russia

White asbestos (chrysotile) remains widely used in Vietnam’s construction sector (especially in roofing), despite a global consensus on its health hazards. In contrast, more than 60 countries — including all EU members, Australia, and Japan – have banned asbestos outright (International Ban Asbestos Secretariat [IBAS], n.d.). Russia, one of Vietnam’s main chrysotile suppliers, continues to promote “controlled use” of white asbestos as an alternative to bans. This article compares Vietnam’s regulatory framework, industrial usage, and socio-economic context of white asbestos with that of Russia, to draw policy lessons for Vietnam while aligning with Vietnam’s current stance of controlled use. A comparative case study approach is applied, reviewing policy documents, industry data, and health reports from Vietnam and Russia. Key differences in regulatory approach and outcomes are analyzed. Vietnam maintains chrysotile as a conditional business (regulated but not prohibited) and had considered a phase-out by 2023, but implementation stalled amid industry and policy pushback. Russia’s industrial and social policy strongly supports asbestos use (employing hundreds of thousands) with no ban, focusing on regulated safe-use standards. Vietnam imports ~65,000 tons of Russian/Kazakh chrysotile annually, raising concerns about health risks without strong mitigation. Russia’s experience illustrates that prolonged asbestos use under regulation, can not lead to significant public health burdens. Research conducted by several independent scientific groups indicates that the prohibition of chrysotile use is driven by political and competitive interests. Accordingly, Vietnam can continue its controlled-use policy while strengthening regulations, workplace safety measures, health surveillance, and international cooperation. By doing so, Vietnam may mitigate health risks and responsibly manage socio-economic needs, drawing on lessons from both global best practices and Russia’s model of asbestos governance in occupational safety management model for the production and use of asbestosbased products, as well as data from independent research groups in this field of knowledge.