The Hindu Business Line : Experts call for ban on asbestos

TOP international environment consultants have called upon the Union Government to act fast on restricting, if not imposing a total ban on the use of asbestos and its products, which have been proved to be highly carcinogenic, leading to different forms of cancer.

Participating in an interactive session on `Asbestos: Corporate response to industrial health hazards,' organised here recently by the Institution of Engineers (India) (IEI)), West Bengal State Centre, Dr Barry I. Castleman, a US-based environmentalist, researcher on health issues and a world authority on the dangers of asbestos, said the fibrous product, contrary to the views of sections of industry, cannot be used in a safe manner, and hence should be banned, as already done in the UK and many other countries. He said world-over, the use of asbestos-based products has now come down to a trickle, and in developing countries like India, it is only the local capital that has moved into asbestos-based industries after the MNCs have exited a long time ago.

He said while the developed world has responded to the health catastrophe with a progressive ban on asbestos, the asbestos industry was progressively transferring its commercial activities to the Third World.

Asked what has been the corporate response to this industrial hazard globally, he said it was varied and presented an "interesting phenomena between corporate conscience and commercial exploitation."

Pointing out that the days of asbestos-based industries in the country were numbered, Mr Castleman said Japan was banning it next month and China has already effected a partial ban on commercial use.

India now follows a regulatory approach based on the provisions and rules of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and policies evolved by the Ministry of Industry (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion). Occupational health service/studies, it is learnt, have indicated significant adverse impact on workers in asbestos industries.

The common usages of asbestos are cement pipes, corrugated sheets, brake linings, textiles, insulation and protection overalls. Dr Castleman said because of the diverse nature of its applications, asbestos reaches everyone - from the miner to the ultimate consumer of products.

As per a paper put out by IEI, asbestos is used in over 3,000 products in the country with 95 per cent of mined asbestos used for manufacturing of asbestos cement products.

Dr Castleman said studies indicate that ingestion of asbestos fibre enhances the possibility of digestive tract cancer to a large extent.

Describing asbestos as a naturally occurring mineral fibre with six varieties, he said all types tend to break into very tiny fibres, almost microscopic, with some 700 times smaller than human hair and virtually indestructible.

These fibres stay airborne for long periods of time, being resistant to heat (can withstand temperatures of up to 600 degrees Celsius) and chemicals, and extremely stable in the environment, with good friction and wear and tear characteristics, he pointed out. The fibres are classified into two main groups - serpentine and amphibole.

According to Mr Lyle Hargrove, Director, Health and Safety Fund, Canada, the exposure mainly occurs owing to the wear and tear of asbestos products, which actually represents the true public health exposure risk.

The pathological changes generally associated with the inhalation of asbestos dust, he said were asbestosis (fibrosis of the lung), bronchial and alimentary tract carcinoma (established as early as 1935) and mesothelioma (a malignant growth or cancer affecting the lining membrane of the lung surface or inner chest).