Health advocates call on Indian government to end all use of asbestos

MEDIA RELEASE: New Delhi, India, December 2, 2013

Over 300 scientists and health defenders from 36 countries condemn dangerous misinformation being disseminated in India by asbestos industry organisations

In a letter released today, over 200 scientists and over 100 labour and health organizations from 36 countries strongly condemned efforts by asbestos industry organisations to promote use of chrysotile asbestos in India. The letter, sent to Health Minister Sh Gulam Nabi Azad, Labour Minister Sh Sis Ram Ola and Environment Minister Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, noted that the asbestos industry is on a mission to enhance its profits and urged the National Government of India to put the health of the Indian population ahead of the vested interests of the asbestos industry.

“The International Chrysotile Association and the Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers’ Association of India (ACPMA) are disseminating deadly, deceptive misinformation about chrysotile asbestos, that will cause suffering and loss of life for years to come,” said Dr. Joseph LaDou, Emeritus Chair, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of California School of Medicine, USA.

“These organisations claim that scientific research shows that chrysotile asbestos can be safely used,” said Professor Luiz Augusto Facchini, Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil. “This claim is utterly false. The International Agency for Research on Cancer and the World Health Organization, as well as numerous other scientific organisations, have all called for an end to the use of chrysotile asbestos in order to prevent further tragic epidemics of asbestos-related diseases.”

“While a handful of scientists financed by and allied to the asbestos industry, deny the health risks of chrysotile asbestos and promote its continued used, not a single reputable scientific body in the world supports this position,” said Dr. Fernand Turcotte, Professor Emeritus of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Laval University, Québec, Canada.

In the face of the public health disaster caused by asbestos, 54 industrialized countries have banned any use of asbestos. The asbestos industry, in order to ensure its continued profits, is aggressively targeting Asian countries for sales. Just six Asian countries – China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka – now represent 70% of world asbestos consumption.

India imports more asbestos than any other country in the world, with imports having risen from 253,382 tons in 2006 to 473,240 tons in 2012, an increase of 186%. “These vast amounts of asbestos, being placed in homes and schools across India, are a deadly time bomb that will go on causing suffering and deaths for decades to come,” said Dr V. Murlidhar, Pneumoconiosis compensation board, TN Trust, UK and Trauma surgeon, Mumbai, India.

As a result of increased use of asbestos in Asia, asbestos experts, Dr. G.V. Le and Dr. K. Takahashi have warned: “A surge of Asbestos Related Disorders (ARD) in Asia should be anticipated in the coming decades. Asian countries should not only cease asbestos use but also prepare themselves for an impending epidemic of ARD.”

One of the ‘eminent’ speakers at the forthcoming conference, Dr David Bernstein was found by a New York court early this year to have committed potential crime-fraud by publishing a number of scientific papers that were financed and controlled by an asbestos products company.

The independence of a 2012 study conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Health titled ‘Health hazards/ environmental hazards resulting from use of Chrysotile variety of asbestos in the country’ commissioned by the Ministry of Chemicals and Petrochemicals was tarnished by the participation of the asbestos industry behind the scenes.

Commenting on the study, Dr Arthur Frank, Professor of Public Health, Drexel University, USA stated: “There are so many things wrong with this study it is hard to know where to begin. Perhaps the single most damning statement in the whole document is to be found on page 106 – All workers were using personal protective equipment device such as a piece of cloth as mask. Who could possibly believe that a piece of cloth acts as a piece of protective equipment?”

“It shows cynical indifference on the part of the asbestos industry that they are holding their event to promote a toxic product on the anniversary of the Bhopal tragedy,” said Pralhad Malvadkar, Occupational Health and Safety Centre, Mumbai. “The millions of tons of asbestos that are being placed in homes and schools in India will create thousands of innocent victims, while this irresponsible industry reaps the profits. A slow motion Bhopal is being created. It may be reliably predicted that the toll of death and disease from asbestos in India will be at least 10 to 100 times as great as that from the disaster in Bhopal. The corporate mentality that is the cause is the same in both cases”.

We call on the three government ministers to reject the discredited propaganda of a tainted, irresponsible industry and instead show leadership that respects reputable science and protection of health.

We call on the national government to adopt an enlightened policy and to support the WHO’s recommendation to end all use of asbestos in India.

CONTACT:

Mohit Gupta, Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India, oehni.del@gmail.com

Krishnendu Mukherjee, Barrister, tublumukherjee@yahoo.co.uk

Madhumita Dutta, Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India, madhudutta.new@gmail.com
- See more at: http://www.rightoncanada.ca/?p=2335#sthash.2VH8MEHC.dpuf

Asbestos Legislation in Canada

In Canada, the laws concerning asbestos can at times appear contradictory. The country has put nationwide regulations in place banning the use of certain types of asbestos in many products, yet the country continues to export chrysotile asbestos to developing countries around the world, a scenario that many Canadians find to be quite perplexing.

Asbestos legislation in Canada can best be characterized as a struggle between the government and the asbestos industry, opposed by medical organizations, labor unions and concerned citizens who truly understand the dangers of asbestos use. Recently, a number of politicians have supported the asbestos ban, rallying to pass laws that will eventually lower Canada’s startlingly-high rate of asbestos-related deaths. Many people, however, still defend the industry.

Regulations on Asbestos Use

The Canadian Government has indeed imposed some regulations on asbestos use. According to Health Canada, "The sale of pure asbestos and certain high-risk consumer products that are composed of or contain asbestos fibres is strictly regulated under the Hazardous Products Act. In addition, the emissions of asbestos into the environment from mining and milling operations are subject to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act."

Currently, the country is spending billions of dollars to remove asbestos from schools, factories, plants and other commercial buildings.

Until just recently, laws permitted the use of chrysotile asbestos in certain children’s toys in Canada, and as recently as 2010, the government was considering the possibility of reopening the open pit Jeffrey Mine in Quebec, which would allow the asbestos exports industry to grow. Proponents claim that the industry promotes safe use of asbestos in the countries to which they sell. Those who oppose the asbestos exports industry claim that most of these countries do not have proper health and safety regulations in place to regulate use of the material.

Due to the controversy surrounding the asbestos industry in Canada, it is not expected that an overall ban on asbestos will happen soon. Canada successfully led a campaign to block the listing of asbestos as a toxic material on the Prior Informed Consent list at the Rotterdam Convention in 2004 and then again in 2008, backed by a number of other countries with an interest in asbestos mining.

Health Canada Study

In early 2008, it was revealed that Health Canada had quietly begun a study on the dangers of chrysotile asbestos. The organization said it was undertaking the research to "help further Canada's knowledge of chrysotile asbestos fibres in relation to human health" and to update the World Health Organization's last published assessment on the subject from 1998.

Unfortunately, the two scientists on the project were supporters of the chrysotile asbestos industry, and the organization refused to announce when the results of the study would be released. In a written statement, Health Canada said that they found chrysotile asbestos to be "safe when used under controlled conditions," and safe use of the material would be regulated by Canada both domestically and abroad.

Thanks to http://www.asbestos.com/

Precautions to Take After Being Exposed to Asbestos

If you've been following CCSN for any amount of time, you've probably amassed a considerable amount of knowledge about the health complications that can develop after asbestos exposure. However, you may also have spent a considerable amount of time racking your brain for times when you could possibly have been exposed to asbestos.

If you've identified any potential exposures, you may now be dealing with intense feelings of anxiety. You’re not alone! This is a reaction we hear often at The Mesothelioma Center.

You’ll be relieved to know that many people who are exposed to asbestos never become ill. Those who do develop asbestos-related diseases were often exposed to high quantities of the fibers for prolonged periods of time. Most people – including those who inhale one or two fibers in the home or environment – won’t have to worry about mesothelioma.

That said, certain precautions can give you peace of mind. It’s important to monitor your health so that in the rare event that a tumor does develop, your medical team will be able to make a quick diagnosis.

If you've been exposed to asbestos, we suggest that you:

• Ask your primary doctor to make a note of your exposure in your medical history. If, in the future, you note any abnormal symptoms, your medical team will know that you have a history of asbestos exposure. This insider knowledge will help them narrow down the causes of your symptoms – and hopefully catch any malignancies in their earliest stages.
• Register for respiratory screenings and other routine imaging scans. These tests can provide easy tracking of your health over time. If your doctors note a decline in lung function (or any suspicious spots inside your body), they’ll be able to immediately pursue further testing.
• Schedule a home inspection to prevent future exposure. Knowing that your home is free from asbestos hazards offers you – and your family – added peace of mind.

Faith Franz is a writer for The Mesothelioma Center. She likes to spread the word about the benefits of alternative medicine.

Former Asbestos Cheerleader Christian Paradis is the new Minister for International Development

As part of the changes to his cabinet on Monday, July 15th, 2013, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper named Christian Paradis to the post of Minister for International Development. Twice the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding Megantic-L'Érable, Paradis was Minister for Natural Resources from 2010 to 2011 and Minister of Industry from May 2011 until this past Monday when the most recent cabinet shuffle was announced by the Canadian government. Paradis is Harper's Quebec lieutenant and has also long been associated with the asbestos debate in Canada.

Pleased to name @christianparad Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie #shuffle13 #cdnpoli
— Stephen Harper (@pmharper) July 15, 2013

Paradis was once a vocal supporter of asbestos but he and the federal Conservative government have recently been forced to change their tune as a result of the election of Quebec Premier Pauline Marios, who stopped her predecessor's fifty-eight million dollar loan guarantee to the Quebec asbestos industry. The federal government has since begun promoting a plan to diversify the economies of towns reliant upon the asbestos industry.

The global asbestos industry over the past couple of decades has shifted its focus to market to developing countries. Before the Canadian mines closed in 2011, much of the asbestos exported to developing countries (mostly in Asia) was from Quebec, Canada. As a supporter of the asbestos industry, Paradis therefore also supported the export of asbestos to developing countries, without concern that it is often mishandled in factories and also by consumers due to lack of safety regulation and enforcement. Unfortunately, asbestos exposure often results in dangerous health consequences like asbestosis and cancer.

So the question is: Can Mr Paradis succeed in promoting healthy development around the world in the role of Minister for International Development with a past coloured by his support of the asbestos industry?

Paradis was born in the Quebec town of Thetford Mines, which was the home of one of the world's largest asbestos mines. Thetford Mines' open pit and underground asbestos mines were open from the late nineteenth century until 2011. Paradis has a legal practice in the town. He is also the head of the town's chamber of commerce.

As the Prime Minister's top Conservative MP in Quebec, Mr Paradis was a long-time cheerleader of the asbestos industry in Canada. He was part of a Canadian tradition, both Liberal and Conservative, to support the asbestos industry, even as the rest of world was on the opposite side of the argument.

In 2011, Canada stood alone in front of the world at the Rotterdam Convention, the lone voice in opposition of the decision to officially recognize chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous material. In 2012, though, Paradis announced that Canada's official stance on the issue changed - Canada would no longer block the placing of chrysotile asbestos on the list of hazardous materials at the 2013 Rotterdam Convention. (However, the listing was blocked by seven countries, who mine or import chrysotile.)

Despite the fact that the change in Canada's stance was a positive note in the anti-asbestos fight, it is important to note that this decision did not come freely from the government of Canada. The decision was the result of the newly elected Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marios delivering on an election promise; that, if she was elected, she would halt the fifty-eight million dollar loan promised by former Quebec Premier Liberal Jean Charest to reopen asbestos mines in the province.

She was elected and she stopped the loan from reinvigorating the Quebec asbestos mines, forcing the federal government to acknowledge the death of the entire asbestos industry since the Quebec mine are the only ones left in the country.

Paradis said that that it would be illogical to continue blocking the listing of chrysotile asbestos on the Rotterdam Convention after Canada was no longer in the business. Kathleen Ruff has written that this sends a clear message to the world: If you have economic interests in a dangerous or hazardous industry, you should fight against efforts to control or regulate that industry.

Ruff has also called Canada's change in heart too little too late and even cowardly. She says it is easy to stop opposing the listing of chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous substance when you don't have anything to lose (because you won't lose money since the mines are already shut down). But it takes courage to commit to change because it is the right thing to do to protect the health and therefore prosperity of all citizens.

Though the Canadian government has taken this first step, however small, it is troubling that there was no mention of the terrible health effects of asbestos at all by the government when discussing its decision to not block the listing of chrysotile on the Rotterdam Convention. Instead, Paradis lamented the negative economic impacts that the closing of the mines for good would have on the community.

To combat the jobs lost as a result of the end of the asbestos mining industry in Quebec, Paradis also announced in 2012 that the Government of Canada would pledge up to fifty million dollars to economic diversification in area in which the local economy was reliant upon asbestos.

But it is important to ask if Premier Marios had not stopped the loan Charest had promised to the asbestos mines, would Paradis and the Canadian government have announced this plan at all or would they have allowed the mines to continue exporting deadly asbestos fibres around the world and into unprotected consumers' lungs?

While job loss as a result of the closing of the mines can be handled with this plan, the health consequences of mining and exporting of a carcinogenic fibre will haunt mining communities in Quebec and communities in developing countries all around the world for years to come.

Canada and Asbestos Today - A Guest Post from Kathleen Ruff

Now that Canada no longer mines or exports asbestos, what are the next steps we should be taking as a country?

The last two asbestos mines in Quebec have finally shut down after more than a century of operation. Other asbestos mines in BC, Ontario, Newfoundland and the Yukon closed down years ago.

Finally, Canada, which, for the past century, was a leading world producer, exporter and promoter of asbestos, is no longer in the asbestos business.

But much remains to be done. While the asbestos mines have shut down for economic reasons, the Canadian government continues to support asbestos use, continues to fail to protect Canadians from asbestos harm and continues to fail to provide assistance and support to asbestos victims and their families.

Shockingly, the Canadian government continues to deny the science on asbestos and, instead, supports the discredited propaganda of the asbestos industry, which claims, against all the evidence, that asbestos can be safely used.

The Harper government opposes the recommendation of the World Health Organization that all use of asbestos should stop. And the government has rejected requests from the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Public Health Association and many other health, labour and public interest organisations that the Canadian government take action to stop the use of asbestos in Canada and to protect Canadians from asbestos harm.

Over 50 countries have banned asbestos, including all the countries of the European Union. Because Canada has not banned asbestos, products are allowed to be imported into Canada that contain asbestos. Millions of dollars’ worth of asbestos-containing car brakes, for example, are imported into Canada each year. Over past decades, many auto mechanics have died from having been exposed to asbestos when grinding and repairing brakes. This will continue to happen, as long as Canada does not ban asbestos.

The Canadian government needs to show leadership on the threat to the health of Canadians posed by asbestos that was placed in thousands of homes and buildings decades ago. Construction workers, carpenters and electricians are especially at risk when they renovate or demolish old buildings.

Many people cannot afford to hire trained professionals to do renovation work on their homes and so they do the work themselves. They usually lack protective equipment and training regarding asbestos and are thus at risk of being exposed to asbestos fibres, as they are unlikely to even recognize it in the walls, ceilings and floors they are cutting into.

While the Canadian government is failing to protect Canadians from asbestos harm, it is spending millions of taxpayers’ dollars on removing asbestos from the Parliament Buildings and from the Prime Minister’s residence. Apparently, the government believes that members of Parliament and the Prime Minister should be protected from asbestos harm.

Many Canadians think, wrongly, that asbestos is a problem of the past. Other countries have national programs to inform and educate the public about the continuing dangers of asbestos. But not Canada. This, in spite of the fact that, every day, more Canadians fall victim to an asbestos-related disease.

When Canadian workers are repeatedly exposed to asbestos because of wanton negligence on the part of their employers, the Canadian government does not lay charges of criminal negligence against the employers, even though the Criminal Code has a provision allowing for such charges to be laid. Thus there are no serious repercussions. The employer may have to pay a fine under occupational health regulations, but, when an employer repeatedly pays the fine and continues to expose workers to asbestos harm, clearly the fine is not a sufficient deterrent.

Because the last asbestos mines have been closed down,Canadians can be glad that we are no longer exporting asbestos to harm people overseas.

The Canadian government should, however, set up reparation funds in those countries to which, to our financial profit, we exported huge amounts of asbestos for decades. These funds would help pay for health care and compensation to all those whose lives will be harmed and help pay for removing asbestos from schools, homes and buildings overseas once those buildings begin to deteriorate and threaten to release asbestos fibres into the air.

As an immediate priority, the Canadian government should take action to protect Canadians from further asbestos harm by banning asbestos, by setting up an asbestos registry and initiating a national program to inform Canadians of the ongoing threat posed by asbestos already placed in so many buildings.

Furthermore, the Canadian government should take responsibility for the asbestos the government itself placed in homes on First Nations reserves and in homes on military bases. The government has washed its hands of this problem and the deaths it has caused.

It is time for this callous and irresponsible conduct to stop.

Kathleen Ruff is founder of the human rights website RightOnCanada.ca and author of Exporting Harm: How Canada markets asbestos to thedeveloping world

Asbestos Exposure and Children

A major concern of many parents is their child’s health. In fact, this is a general concern of our entire population as children are very precious so their health and safety needs to be protected.

This is why a hot topic these days is the presence of asbestos, a known deadly carcinogen, in the schools our children attend, especially as the question of whether or not children are more at risk from asbestos exposure than adults is coming more into the public consciousness.

Are children more vulnerable to asbestos-related diseases after asbestos exposure?

Yes, unfortunately, children are more at risk from asbestos exposure than adults. Why?

Asbestos-related diseases have a latency period during which the disease develops. Children have a longer time to live, which gives asbestos-related diseases enough time to develop within a child’s lifetime.

How does this work?

Assuming a thirty-year latency period, a person exposed at fifty years of age will be eighty when an asbestos-related disease develops but a child exposed at ten will only be forty when they develop an asbestos-related disease. The likelihood of the child being alive a forty is greater than the likelihood of the adult being alive at eighty years of age. You can see then that a child is ultimately more likely to develop an asbestos-related disease than the adult simply because the disease has more time to develop.

While it hasn’t been confirmed through scientific study, it is also suspected that children are more susceptible to the harmful effects of asbestos exposure due to their physical immaturity. Many doctors warn that children are not just ‘little adults’ and because their bodies aren’t fully developed, they have different reactions and interactions with hazards like asbestos than adults.

Children are also different than adults in that they have exploratory behaviours and an undeveloped understanding on danger that can lead to exposure to hazards like asbestos. And, as discussed, they have longer life expectancies than adults. Moreover, children spend time in different environments than adults. Young children spend a lot more time in the home than adults and then, as they age, they spend a lot of time in school, another different environment than adults with exception of course to those who work in schools and daycares.

Asbestos in Schools

Asbestos is present in many schools in industrialized countries like Canada and the United States because it was widely used in a large variety of building materials throughout the twentieth century due to its useful properties such as inflammability and durability.

Sadly, we now know that the use of asbestos comes at the cost of human health: those who mine, process, and work with the mineral can develop asbestos related diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer.

People are also at risk of the health effects of asbestos exposure if they spend a lot of time in buildings in which asbestos fibres are present in the air. As mentioned, children spend much of their time in school so if there were asbestos fibres in the air they breathe school can become a very dangerous situation as an environment of long-term exposure to the hazard. 

If asbestos was part of a school’s building materials and then was disturbed due to renovation or wear over time, children’s health could be at risk as they could develop asbestos-related diseases down the road.

The Precautionary Principle

Many pushing governments around the world to remove asbestos from schools argue that we must act with the precautionary principle in mind – that is, even though we don’t know for sure that children are even more at risk from asbestos exposure than adults due to their physical immaturity, we should act as if they were and remove asbestos from schools as soon as possible because if we do not take this precaution and evidence confirms that children are more at risk, then many children will have been unnecessarily put in harms way.

Resources:

Asbestos Exposure In Schools. (2011). Increased vulnerability of children to asbestos: the precautionary principle. Retrieved July 2013 from http://www.asbestosexposureschools.co.uk/pdfnewslinks/CHILDREN%20increased%20vulnerability%20to%20asbestos%202%20Nov%2009.pdf.

Joint Union Asbestos Committee. (2013). Children are more at risk from exposure to asbestos. Retrieved July 2013 from http://www.juac.org.uk/blog/children-are-more-at-risk-from-exposure-to-asbestos.

World Health Organization. (2008). Children are not little adults. Retrieved July 2013 from http://www.who.int/ceh/capacity/Children_are_not_little_adults.pdf. 

Restoration Contractors Organization of Canada Working to Create National Asbestos Handling Protocol

Canada’s full-service restoration contracting industry is in the business of restoring lives.  Each year, tens of thousands of property owners across the country are adversely affected by losses relating to wind, fire and water.  As this article is being written, a massive mobilization is underway in Calgary, to assist with billions of dollars of flood damage caused by heavy rains and swollen waterways.

Like the past major incidents that our members have responded to, the flooding in Calgary has brought a number of issues to light, many of which relate to the health & safety of both workers and building occupants.  A primary issue is that of building materials and the potential for asbestos within such things as drywall, ceiling tiles and floor tiles.

Restoration Contractors Organization of Canada (RCOC) member companies deal with safety issues on a daily basis.  Mould, asbestos, and biohazards from flood waters are just some of the environmental issues that our members are trained to manage.  The reality is that these issues exist, and well-trained contractors typically have the necessary skills to deal with them professionally and safely.  Doing so mitigates any related dangers, and avoids the need for any public alarm.

As a general rule, any structure that was built prior to 1990 may have been built with building materials that contain asbestos in varying degrees.  Every province in Canada has regulations with regard to the identification, testing and handling of asbestos containing materials (ACM’s).  The provinces do not take this issue lightly.  In March of 2011, WorkSafeBC had shut down more than 30 building projects due to improper removal of asbestos and asbestos containing materials. The issue is of such concern in BC, that the government has launched an asbestos-specific website, noting that the number of fatality claims due to occupational disease, and more specifically asbestos related disease, is on the rise.

RCOC members have the necessary training to operate according to the regulations.  During the current situation in Alberta, we are reminding members of the public that not all contractors are restoration contractors.  Awareness and training with regard to unique job hazards is something that most standard contractors are not equipped to deal with. 

It is for this reason that RCOC has embarked on the creation of a national asbestos handling protocol.  While our members are already equipped to deal with issues relating to asbestos, our many stakeholders and the public will be comforted by the fact that a comprehensive protocol for our industry exists.  Having a national standard raises the bar for anyone providing restoration services to the public.  What’s more, having a standard in place creates the need for continual education, especially in light of changing regulations.  A national standard will ensure that RCOC members stay current with all provincial regulations.

A national asbestos protocol is not only good optics for the full-service restoration industry, it makes good business sense.  Individuals and corporations want to do business with firms that have the necessary qualifications and skills to complete projects while complying with regulations.  Both workers and building occupants will benefit in the end.

Restoration Contractors Organization of Canada (RCOC) is a national organization that represents the image and interests of full-service restoration contractors to industry stakeholders and members of the public.  RCOC represents nearly 600 restoration contracting locations across Canada.  These businesses employ nearly 13,000 professionals, and contribute close to $2 billion to the Canadian economy.

The Uses of Asbestos

Asbestos has many uses due to its inherent properties. Asbestos is a very strong and durable material that is also very flexible. Asbestos has the ability to insulate because it does not conduct heat. Moreover, asbestos is relatively chemically unreactive. Due to these properties, asbestos has commercial value.

In ancient times, asbestos was used mostly as a novelty. For instance, Charlemagne had a tablecloth, made seemingly of asbestos, with which he would entertain dinner guests when ‘cleaning’ it by throwing it into the fireplace, where it would not be burnt. Asbestos’ fine fibrous crystals were also used as decoration or adornment of homes and even jewelry. Ancient Egyptians, Persians, and also Romans and Greeks used asbestos as funeral shroud to protect the bodies of their dead throughout time.

During the rise of industrialization, asbestos became more and more common. This was because there was a need for thermal insulation with many of the new technologies such as the steam engine and machines used for manufacturing. Asbestos use peaked in the 1950s, at which point it was being used in about 3 000 products.

The health effects of asbestos have been known for over a century but asbestos was such a versatile product that they were ignored for many years. As its health consequences began to become more noticeable, asbestos use waned with the push to ban the substance. However, today, asbestos is still used in the developing world and even in some developed countries like the United States where it is still not banned.

Asbestos’ contemporary uses include:

•    Insulation around windows, gaskets, furnaces, pipes etc.

Asbestos fibres act as insulation to heat, electricity, and even sound. For this reason, asbestos was used to insulate homes, to insulate industrial products like furnaces and engines. It is also used as sealants around gaskets and windows in buildings and homes.

Asbestos had many military applications as a result of its insulating capabilities so many veterans were exposed and have developed asbestos-related diseases.

•    Reinforcement for building products like tiles, cement, etc.

            Asbestos is a very strong mineral that is used to reinforce products. Because of its durability, it is used in many building products such as ceiling and floor tiles, fireproof drywall, house siding, and cement products like cement sheet roofing.

•    Fire resistant products like drywall, fabrics, etc.

Asbestos was used in fire blankets and outfits for firefighters to protect them from heat and flame. Asbestos was also used in housing materials as a way to ‘fireproof’ private homes and public buildings like schools, municipal buildings, and even hospitals.

Despite its health effects, asbestos was even marketed as a ‘miracle mineral’ that would save lives due to its inflammability. Instead, though, it takes lives due to its carcinogenicity.

•    Making products like vehicle brakes, transmissions, and clutches more durable

Asbestos is also used in car manufacturing to make products like vehicle brakes, transmissions, and clutches last longer.

Asbestos in your home

Any home made before 2000 should be checked for asbestos before renovation occurs because distributing asbestos without taking necessary precautions can have dangerous health consequences for you or the contractor working in your home.

Resources:

Asbestos Resource Center. (2013). History of Asbestos. Retrieved June 2013 from http://www.asbestosresource.com/history/.

The Mesothelioma Center. (2013). Mining & Manufacturing History Part II. Retrieved June 2013 from http://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/history/part-2.php.

Oracle Solutions. (2013). History of Asbestos. Retrieved June 2013 from http://www.oracleasbestos.com/history-of-asbestos/.

US Environmental Protection Agency. (2013). Where can I find asbestos? Retrieved June 2013 from http://www2.epa.gov/asbestos/learn-about-asbestos#find.

United States Department of the Interior. (ND). Asbestos: Geology, Mineralogy, Mining, and Uses. Retrieved June 2013 from http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-149/of02-149.pdf.

Asbestos in the Developing World

Asbestos products are marketed to developing countries as cheap and durable products. Asbestos-containing products thought of as a poor person’s building material. It is cheaper than other materials so it makes home building and even ownership more attainable to a person or a family who would not have been able to afford another kind of shelter. Furthermore, materials made with asbestos are more durable.

However, the health risks are often downplayed and are rarely promoted. People who do not know about the health risks associated with asbestos exposure and who live in poverty so they cannot afford a safer building material do not have the opportunity to protect their health. Moreover, chrysotile asbestos is said to be the ‘safer’ choice than its alternatives, which has generally unstudied consequences, and other varieties of asbestos, like amphibole, despite that the World Health Organization says that all kinds of asbestos are carcinogenic.

Why sell to the developing world?

Asbestos producing countries need to market asbestos to countries where it has not yet been banned or its consumption limited. Asbestos is currently banned in over fifty countries including the European Union, many of which are located in the developed world or are medium-income countries. Most other developed countries and increasingly more developing countries strictly control asbestos.

Developing countries are then the most accessible market to the asbestos industry. India, for instance, is one of the largest consumers of asbestos in the world.

Health consequences due to lack of laws and enforcement as well as a lack of capacity to create and enforce new laws

Sadly, many developing countries do not have laws that protect workers effectively.  Even if they do have laws, they might not be enforced, which puts people, especially those who work with asbestos, at risk of being exposed. According to the WHO, asbestos-related cancers are the leading cause of occupational cancer globally with an estimated 125 million people being exposed to asbestos each year in their workplace.

The people who work in factories that process imported raw asbestos are also in danger of asbestos exposure. If workers are impoverished, they will not speak out against working conditions for fear of losing their jobs.

And if they become ill with an asbestos-related disease such as asbestosis, they will keep working in the toxic environment because they require the income to support their families and pay for their medicine. Continuing to work with asbestos will only make them sicker, though. Eventually, they will not be able to work anymore so they will lose that income. This will mean they will not be able to afford medicine and without the income from their job they will be even more marginalized.

Mining operations have grown in developing and middle-income countries 

Before 2011, when its last asbestos mines were closed, Canada was a major exporter of asbestos globally. The main importers of Canada’s asbestos were developing countries like Brazil and India. These countries are still importing asbestos today from producers like Kazakhstan, Russia, Zimbabwe, and China whose asbestos mines still operate today.

While the closing of the Canadian asbestos mines were a win for the anti-asbestos movement here, other asbestos-producing countries benefitted financially from the move by picking up where the Canadian asbestos industry left off.

Not Worth The Risk

The asbestos industry has a great financial interest in continuing the mining and processing of the mineral. Advocacy groups against asbestos argue that this is why asbestos has still not yet been banned in many countries. Even in Canada and the United States asbestos is not banned outright, just controlled.

Even though asbestos is fireproof and has high tensile strength, it is not worth using (even with precautions) because it is like poison and has deadly consequences. When these consequences are ignored or downplayed, though, some only see asbestos’ profit-making ability.

Resources:

CBC The National. (2010). Canada’s Ugly Secret. Retrieved July 2013 from http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/indepthanalysis/story/2010/06/28/national-asbestos.html.

CBC News. (2011). Asbestos Mining Stop For The First Time In 150 Years. Retireved July 2013 from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/11/24/asbestos-shutdown.html.

Lemen, Richard A. (ND). Smoke and Mirrors: Chrysotile Asbestos Is Good For You – Illusion And Confusion But Not Fact. Retrieved July 2013 from http://worldasbestosreport.org/articles/iatb/page16-20.pdf.

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