[ Madhumita Dutta, is an Environmental scientist and the Central Coordinator, Toxics Link, , an information clearing house on toxics and related issues. She has worked with Down To Earth, the renowned science and environment fortnightly and also with Centre for Environment Education. Ed. ] 

Early this year saw an aggressive asbestos industry trying to thwart an attempt by handful of occupational health experts to create a public debate and sensitise its own faternity about the dangers of asbestos. The asbestos industry went to the extent of approaching the Chief Minister and Heath Minister of Delhi to prevent Indian Association of Occupational Health from holding the session "Ban Asbestos", besides writing threatening letters to the organizers of the meeting.

Why did this Rs 800 crore powerful industry feel so heckled by a handful of doctors and activists wanting to raise public awareness about asbestos, when it claims that "all is safe" with asbestos? Why should they feel so threatened?

They had reason to be so. This seemingly innocent thing, widely used in making roofing, cement pipes, and conduits for electrical cables, has ruined the health of many a worker either mining it or making things out of it. Finished asbestos products in themselves may not be harmful, but there is enough scientific evidence to prove that it poses a health hazard for the worker exposed to its fibres.

Global trends

While the developed world has responded to the asbestos health catastrophe with a progressive ban on the use of asbestos, the asbestos industry is progressively transferring its commercial activities to the third world. According to Laurie Kazan-Allen of Ban Asbestos Secretariat, UK "Multinational asbestos corporations present a deplorable history of international exploitation. These firms have opened large and profitable internal and export markets in Brazil and elsewhere in South America, and in India, Thailand, Nigeria, Angola, Mexico, Uruguay, and Argentina." In the third world countries, use of asbestos has been increasing at an annual rate of about 7 per cent.

And not only the developed countries, even countries like Brazil, which is the fifth largest producer and consumer of asbestos in the world, after Russia, Canada, Kazakstan and China , are taking steps towards eliminating the use of asbestos. As recent as March 2001, city of Sao Paulo in Brazil, the biggest city in Latin America, announced banning of asbestos use in all construction material as of 2005, the same as the deadline for the European Union member countries to ban asbestos in their respective countries. This historic move, seen as the harbinger of nationwide ban on asbestos in Brazil was possible only due to tremendous public pressure and participation of the civil society in demanding the ban. So far, 21 countries have banned asbestos, most of them in Europe. The recent World Trade Organization's dismissal of Canada's trade challenge to ban asbestos by France was a boost in the arm for most of the countries and communities fighting the asbestos mafia.

Health hazards of asbestos

According to the United States National Toxicology Programme database , there is sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of asbestos and all commercial forms of asbestos in humans (IARC S.4, 1982). Occupational exposure to different types of asbestos, chrysotile, amosite, anthophyllite, and mixtures containing crocidolite has resulted in a high incidence of lung carcinomas (malignant tumors).

Three main asbestos related diseases are asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. Asbestosis is the most common disease found in workers exposed to asbestos fibres. It is an irreversible and progressive lung condition, which results from the inhalation of asbestos fibres.

National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, has done number of studies that clearly indicate the prevalence of asbestosis amongst asbestos workers in the country. There are no studies or data on prevalence of mesotheliomas or lung cancer caused due to asbestos exposure in India. But that does not mean that these diseases are not prevalent in India. According to Dr S K Dave of NIOH, "mesothelioma or lung cancer may occur years after a person has stopped working in a asbestos factory or mine and it is difficult to track these workers and do cohort studies. We do not have such infrastructure in the country. Also a person with mesothelioma or lung cancer, both debilitating diseases, won't be working, they will be either in hospital or would have died".

Not only workers, studies have shown that secondary exposure from asbestos has resulted in occurrence of asbestosis cases. In India, though there are no comprehensive health studies on the secondary exposure of asbestos, individuals have observed and documented some cases of secondary exposures. Dr SR Kamath, a physician who has worked with asbestos workers for a long time, has observed number of asbestosis cases where patients who have not directly worked with asbestos had contracted the disease. "….patient was an industrialist's son, owner of an asbestos boxing plant...was exposed to the dust and diagnosed with asbestosis. In another case, the patient had an office in the first floor of a building which had asbestos boxing shed in the ground floor. The patient got exposed to asbestos fibres and dust through the AC ducts into the office...he was diagnosed with asbestosis too. A railway master was diagnosed with asbestosis due to the constant loading of asbestos in the rail wagons."

Sorry state of affairs

Government obviously is oblivious to the health hazards of asbestos or has chosen to be so. As is evident from the fact that recently Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board took a decision to replace the thatched roofs made of natural material like coconut leaves with asbestos roofs in slums of Chennai. The Board's decision was prompted by the fact that fire hazards in slums are more important than the health hazards of asbestos.

In spite of banning import of asbestos wastes (dust and fibre) since 1998, India still imports it as is evident from the import data which shows 500 tonnes of asbestos been imported between April 1998-March 99 from Brazil and Canada. Asbestos wastes are mostly imported from Brazil, Canada and USA, besides Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland.

Asbestos industry, taking advantage of India's lax occupational and environmental standards has been saying "controlled use of asbestos with adequate safeguards" would ensure no health risk to workers or consumers of asbestos products. Which obviously doesn't hold much water, as the asbestos industry couldn't even convince those sympathetic economists at the World Trade Organization that "controlled use" of asbestos was a realistic possibility in France.

Our occupational exposure limits to all kinds of asbestos in the work environment is 2 f/cc, where as in the rest of the world it is between 0.1 f/cc-0.5f/cc. The strictest occupational exposure limits in the world for chrysotile asbestos (0.1 f/cc) are estimated to be associated with lifetime risks of 5/1,000 for lung cancer and 2/1,000 for asbestosis. According to experts, these exposure limits can be technically achieved in the United States and few other highly industrialised countries, but the residual risks still are too high to be acceptable.

Even our environment emission standards for asbestos of 4 f/cc is much relaxed compared to other countries. Thus exposing the community living around the asbestos factories and mines to high levels of asbestos fibres for 24 hours.

Currently India's annual consumption of asbestos is around 100,000 metric tonnes, one fifth of which is mined in India. Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar are major asbestos mining belt of India with 20,000 tonnes being mined from these three states yearly. In addition, raw asbestos worth Rs 40 to 50 crores is imported annually. The asbestos industry gives direct employment to 6000 workers and indirectly to 100,000. Working conditions in the asbestos mines and factories are deplorable as shown by the studies conducted by NIOH and Consumer Education Research Centre, Ahmedabad.

Alternatives

Most of the applications for asbestos have alternatives, which are either natural or man made fibres. World over, countries are replacing asbestos with glass fibre, carbon fibre, cotton, organic fibre, man-made mineral fibres and particulate mineral fillers, poly vinyl alcohol, cellulose, Paramid fibres.

In countries like India, where public awareness about toxics is low, it is necessary to create a space for public debate and make consumers aware of their rights. Like Brazil, we too need an active and informed community to demand for a ban on asbestos and replace it with safer alternatives.

  Stayner L, Smith R, Bailer J, Gilbert S, Steenland K, Dement J, Brown D, Lemen R. Exposure-response analysis of risk of respiratory disease associated with occupational exposure to chrysotile asbestos. Occup Environ Med. 1997;54:646-652. 

Harington JS and McGlashan ND. South African asbestos: production, exports, and destinations, 1959-1993. Am J Ind Med. 1998; 33:321-325 Information taken from National Toxicology Programme database 

Stayner L, Smith R, Bailer J, Gilbert S, Steenland K, Dement J, Brown D, Lemen R. Exposure-response analysis of risk of respiratory disease associated with occupational exposure to chrysotile asbestos. Occup Environ Med. 1997;54:646-652. 

Barry Castleman, ScD, environment consultant, USA. Personal communication. Comprehensive industry document on asbestos products manufacturing industry. Central Pollution Control Board. Series: COINDS/58/1997-98. (1404) 

Stayner L, Smith R, Bailer J, Gilbert S, Steenland K, Dement J, Brown D, Lemen R. Exposure-response analysis of risk of respiratory disease associated with occupational exposure to chrysotile asbestos. Occup Environ Med. 1997;54:646-652. 

Harington JS and McGlashan ND. South African asbestos: production, exports, and destinations, 1959-1993. Am J Ind Med. 1998; 33:321-325 Information taken from National Toxicology Programme database 

Stayner L, Smith R, Bailer J, Gilbert S, Steenland K, Dement J, Brown D, Lemen R. Exposure-response analysis of risk of respiratory disease associated with occupational exposure to chrysotile asbestos. Occup Environ Med. 1997;54:646-652. 

Barry Castleman, ScD, environment consultant, USA. Personal communication. Comprehensive industry document on asbestos products manufacturing industry. Central Pollution Control Board. Series: COINDS/58/1997-98.