Ban-Asbestos-India: Anti-Asbestos Group Pleads to Stop Export

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Anti-Asbestos Group Pleads to Stop Export

Reports said Friday that an anti-asbestos group in Canada encouraged Quebec government to stop supporting asbestos exports to India.

Opposition leader Michael Ignatieff said in a statement that Canada must stop exporting asbestos, a toxic material commonly used for manufacturing materials such as roofing shingles, ceiling, floor tiles and cement products because of its fire-retardant and insulation properties.

Recent studies cautioned that when asbestos-containing materials are damaged or disturbed, microscopic fibers will become airborne and can be inhaled into the lungs, causing significant health problems attributed to the toxic substance. According to anti-asbestos campaigners, Balcorp spokesperson, Guy Versailles, announced Thursday they will join a mission to India next week to promote safe use of asbestos. Balcorp is a company engaged in international trade and marketing.

On Thursday, Versailles said they will encourage Indian companies to import their asbestos from Quebec and generate revenue for the provincial economy. He added that it will make it easier for other asbestos companies to export their products. Kathleen Ruff of the anti-asbestos group from Rideau Institute believed it will be impossible to regulate safe use of asbestos throughout India because working conditions are so poor.

She said that when the asbestos cement products are dispersed, villagers will be put at great risk posing significant health problems attributed to asbestos exposure. Studies showed that long exposure to high concentrations of asbestos fibers caused diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that affects the protective lining covering the internal body organs.

Meanwhile, Ignatieff said that it will be crucial for the Canadian government to help asbestos workers find employment in another industry. Balcorp, on the other hand, said they are considering paying for routine inspections in India to make sure the workers are protected from possible health problems.
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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

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Anti-Asbestos Group Pleads to Stop Export

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