Ban-Asbestos-India: Asbestos case in Delhi High Court

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Asbestos case in Delhi High Court

On 21st October, 2009, Delhi High Court would hear the matter concerning the proposal for the Asbestos Cement Products (1,50,000 MTPA) and Fibre Reinforced Plastic Products (FRP 3,60,000 Metre, FRP Pipes and/other products) at Village Akbarpur Urd, Tehsil Laksar, District Haridwar, Uttranchal by M/s Aqua Infra Projects Ltd. Total land acquired for phase-I is 6.6110 ha. and 6 ha. land for phase II is yet to be acquired. Total project cost is Rs. 92.00 Crores. The palletized compact bags of asbestos fibres will be emptied in an enclosed automatic debagger. The shredded bags will be sent to fibre mill. The boiler will be coal fired and dust control devices will be installed. Bag filters will be provided to cement and ash silos and a dust collector will be attached to the fibre bag opening machine to arrest dust during loading and unloading. Total water requirement will be 140 m3/day. Tanks/ponds of adequate capacity will be developed for the collection and settlement of liquid effluent. Supernatant liquid will be recycled for making fresh slurry. ?Zero? discharge will be adopted. Domestic wastewater after treatment in septic tank will be used for green belt development. Solid waste will be ground/pulverized and recycled in the process as raw material. The Public Hearing / Consultation was held on 10th June 2008.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests hereby accords environmental clearance to the above unit under the EIA Notification dated 14th September, 2006 subject to the compliance of the terms and conditions

Project No: J-11011/1150/2007.-IA.II(I)
Project Name: Asbestos Cement Sheet Product
District:Hardwar
Village:Akbarpur Urd
Company:M/s Aqua Infra Projects Ltd

Project received on 19/06/2008 and approved on 09/04/2009 by Experts Appraisal Committee for environmental clearnce (EC)on industrial projects

Projects Granted EC (Projects received upto 30th April 2009)

Earlier, the project of a company named M/s Everest Industries Ltd.received on 05/09/2006 and approved on 22/02/2007 by Experts Appraisal Committee for environmental clearnce (EC)on industrial projects. Project No: J-11011/310/2006-IA.II(I), Project Name: Asbestos Cement Sheet Project District:Haridwar, Village:at Lakesari, Roorkee.

Notably, as of August 27, 2009, according to IBAS in the following countries there are National Asbestos Bans:1
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Chile
Croatia2
Cyprus*
Czech Republic*
Denmark
Egypt
Estonia*
Finland
France
Gabon
Germany
Greece*
Honduras
Hungary*
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan [Major restrictions on asbestos use were introduced in October, 2004;
Japanese asbestos consumption has fallen by more than 90%.]3
Jordan4
South Korea
Kuwait
Latvia
Lithuania*
Luxembourg
Malta*
Netherlands
New Caledonia
Norway
Oman
Poland
Portugal*
Romania
Saudi Arabia
Seychelles
Slovakia*
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom (including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
Uruguay
_______

1 Exemptions for minor uses are permitted in some countries.

2Croatia banned asbestos as of January 1, 2006. Six weeks later, the Ministry of Economy, under political and commercial pressure, forced the Ministry of Health to reverse its position with the result that the manufacture of asbestos-containing products for export was permitted again.

3In July, 2005, the Japanese Government announced implementation of a total asbestos ban within 3 years.

4An immediate ban on amosite and crocidolite was imposed on August 16, 2005; a grace period of one year was allowed for the phasing out of the use of tremolite, chrysotile, anthophyllite and actinolite in friction products, brake linings and clutch pads. After August 16, 2006, all forms of asbestos will be banned for all uses.

* January 1, 2005 was the deadline for prohibiting the new use of chrysotile, other forms of asbestos having been banned previously, in all 25 Member States of the European Union; compliance with this directive has not been verified in countries with an asterisk (*). As of May 2009 there are 27 Member States, with Romania and Bulgaria joining the EU in 2007.

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Ban on Asbestos is a Must

A study in a peer-reviewed journal had earlier estimated that there could be more than 6,000 workers affected by asbestosis (an untreatable lung ailment) and another 600 suffering at the minimum from asbestosis-related lung cancer in India at present. Occupational cancer from asbestos, the disease caused by emissions at the work place, poses an increasingly serious health problem. But the subject has attracted relatively little attention from industry, labour, public health bodies or the medical profession. Asbestos is one of the single largest sources of occupational cancer. Indian polticians are acting as if they are bonded workers of asbestos industry.

World Trade Center, New York collapsed Thousands of tons of asbestos became airborne.

Back in 1981, there was research coming out that Asbestos was cancer causing and this ad was in rebuttal to that research touting the benefits of using Asbestos. The text over the Twin Towers states, "When the Fire Alarm Went Off, It Took Two Hours to Evacuate New York's World Trade Center." I do not need to remind anyone of the images of September 11th and this ad. The copy below the ad goes on to mention all of the places that Asbestos was used in the World Trade Center. I can not not think of all of the innocent victims in the area that were exposed to all of the dust, smoke and inherent asbestos that was in the air after the buildings collapsed. The cloud of smoke went across the entire city and potentially exposed hundreds of thousands of individuals to asbestos. Hopefully there can be a cure or treatment for Mesothelioma before all of these potential victims are diagnosed.

Apex Court allocates meagre compensation for asbetsos victims

In 1995, the Supreme Court of India fixed Rs 1 lakh compensation amount and identified National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) as the final authority to certify asbestosis cases. Compensations are given through the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). Two workers in Ahmedabad Electricity Company diagnosed as having asbestosis by NIOH have been compensated by Gujarat High Court. Twenty-five workers in asbestos jointing and packing industry at Mumbai were compensated by the Special medical board of ESIC. The court ruled that the industrial units must maintain a health record of every worker up to a minimum period of 40 years; insure workers under the Employees State Insurance Act or Workmen’s Compensation Act and give health coverage to every worker.

Asbestos Victims

Every day estimated 30 deaths in India is under way due to the ongoing trade and use of white asbestos. 'Asbestos' in Greek means 'indestructible'. Greeks called asbestos the 'magic mineral'. Asbestos is a generic term, referring usually to six kinds of naturally occuring mineral fibres. Of these six, three are used more commonly. Chrysotile is the most common, accounts for almost 90 per cent of the asbestos used in the industry, but it is not unusual to encounter Amosite or Crocidolite as well. Though Crocidolite asbestos is banned in India, it can still be found in old insulation material, old ships that come from other countries for wrecking in India. All types of asbestos tend to break into very tiny fibre, almost microscopic. In fact, some of them may be up to 700 times smaller than human hair. Because of their small size, once released into the air, they may stay suspended in the air for hours or even days. Asbestos fibres are virtually indestructible. They are resistant to chemicals and heat, and are very stable in the environment. They do not evaporate into air or dissolve in water, and they do not break down over time. Because of its high durability and with tensile strength asbestos has been widely used inconstruction and insulation materials - it has been used in over 3,000 different products. Where do we use it? In India, asbestos is used in manufacture of pressure and non pressure pipes used for water supply, sewage, irrigation and drainage system in urban and rural areas, asbestos textiles, laminated products, tape, gland packing, packing ropes, brake lining and jointing used in core sector industries such as automobile, heavy equipment, petro-chemicals, nuclear power plants, fertilizers, thermal power plants, transportation, defence.

Make India Asbestos Free

Ban-Asbestos-India

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Asbestos case in Delhi High Court

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