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Aesbestos in India and Its Harm.

The document discusses the hazardous use of asbestos in India. It notes that over 55,000 workers at ship breaking yards in Gujarat and hundreds of workers at asbestos sheet factories in Ahmedabad face significant health risks from asbestos exposure. These include increased risks of lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma. While the asbestos industry generates over $850 million annually and supports millions of jobs, weak regulations and poor workplace safety put workers at risk of asbestos-related diseases that could lead to over 1 million deaths in developing countries by 2020 according to some studies. The powerful asbestos lobby in India also denies the proven links between asbestos and fatal lung diseases.

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61 views4 pages

Aesbestos in India and Its Harm.

The document discusses the hazardous use of asbestos in India. It notes that over 55,000 workers at ship breaking yards in Gujarat and hundreds of workers at asbestos sheet factories in Ahmedabad face significant health risks from asbestos exposure. These include increased risks of lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma. While the asbestos industry generates over $850 million annually and supports millions of jobs, weak regulations and poor workplace safety put workers at risk of asbestos-related diseases that could lead to over 1 million deaths in developing countries by 2020 according to some studies. The powerful asbestos lobby in India also denies the proven links between asbestos and fatal lung diseases.

Uploaded by

PiyKakde
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dealing with hazardous asbestos usage in

Indian cities and villages

An asbestos sheet is a type of construction material that is made from asbestos cement. It was
used in residential, commercial and industrial construction applications.
EVERY DAY, the swirling waters of the Arabian Sea bring misery to Alang, the worlds
largest shipbreaking yard in Gujarat. An estimated 55,000 workers, unmindful of the lethal
effects of asbestos-laden material in the ships, slave for long hours and are exposed to its
deadly fibres. The government is aware of the risks but loath to interfere: the men need jobs.
200 km north of Alang, hundreds of workers at dusty factories producing asbestos sheets
used in construction in Ahmedabad face similar hazards in the name of economic
development: lung cancer, asbestosis and malignancy, usually affecting the chest cavity,
called mesothelioma. The two locales are centres of an emerging epidemic of asbestosrelated diseases in India
In India, it is booming. The country is now the worlds second largest asbestos market,
behind only China, consuming nearly 3,50,000 tonnes in 2008. The industry generates more
than $850 million a year in revenue, and directly employs 3,00,000 people. Indirectly, it
supports as many as three million more. Backed by a powerful lobby, asbestos use in India
has risen by 83 percent since 2004, according to government figures. Given evidence of poor
workplace safety and weak regulations, such use could prove disastrous, say health experts. A
study by two Delhi researchers suggests that by 2020, deaths from asbestos-related cancers
could reach one million in developing countries.
According to recent estimates by the Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers Association
(ACPMA), a New Delhibased industry organisation, the Indian asbestos market grew by more
than 30 percent just in the past year, primarily because of demand in the countrys rural sector.
Despite asbestos being a health hazard, its market has grown because it serves the poor, says
Gopal Krishna of the Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI). And it is growing at a
tremendous pace. So, nobody has the time for complaints.

A POTENT LOBBY In India, asbestos products carry no health warnings, and trade unions
have no mandate to prevent asbestos-related diseases at workplaces. Although researchers
around the world have linked lung cancer and other diseases with exposure to the widely used
white (chrysotile) asbestos, the powerful ACPMA funded by 12 companies as well as by
the Canada-based Chrysotile Institute concedes nothing. That lung cancer deaths have
been caused by asbestos fibre has not been proved in India, argues John Nicodemus, the
ACPMAs executive director. This is the job of groups like BANI. The states stand on
asbestos is clear it has yet to receive proof that the product is a hazard.
THE CASE OF GUJARAT COMPOSITE
The lack of official attention has dire consequences, health experts warn. At just one
Ahmedabad company Gujarat Composite Ltd (GCL) at least 75 workers have been
diagnosed with lung cancer in the past 10 years, out of a workforce of about 1,000, according
to activists working on such diseases. At least 20 have died, they say. No one listened to our
complaints of breathing troubles and skin irritation, rues Muthuswami Munian, who has
suffered from the disease for nearly a decade. He and other sick workers say they were fired
by the company and offered little compensation, prompting them to file a complaint with the
local police over conditions at the company. Shorn of funds, they are dependent on monthly
handouts by a few NGOs.
In January 2009, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission prohibited the use of asbestos
sheet roofing for school buildings. But elsewhere, asbestos is considered an essential for
growth. In Andhra Pradesh, a pro-asbestos agenda is being pushed by MP Gaddam
Vivekanand, who reportedly controls 25 percent of Indias asbestos production through seven
factories across India. An eighth will open this year in Orissa.
In January 2009, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission prohibited the use of asbestos
sheet roofing for school buildings. But elsewhere, asbestos is considered an essential for
growth. In Andhra Pradesh, a pro-asbestos agenda is being pushed by MP Gaddam
Vivekanand, who reportedly controls 25 percent of Indias asbestos production through seven
factories across India. An eighth will open this year in Orissa.

When is Asbestos Dangerous?


The most common way for asbestos fibers to enter the body is through breathing. In fact,
asbestos containing material is not generally considered to be harmful unless it is releasing
dust or fibers into the air where they can be inhaled or ingested. Many of the fibers will
become trapped in the mucous membranes of the nose and throat where they can then be
removed, but some may pass deep into the lungs, or, if swallowed, into the digestive tract.
Once they are trapped in the body, the fibers can cause health problems.
Asbestos is most hazardous when it is friable. The term "friable" means that the asbestos is
easily crumbled by hand, releasing fibers into the air. Sprayed on asbestos insulation is highly
friable. Asbestos floor tile is not.
Asbestos-containing ceiling tiles, floor tiles, undamaged laboratory cabinet tops, shingles, fire
doors, siding shingles, etc. will not release asbestos fibers unless they are disturbed or
damaged in some way. If an asbestos ceiling tile is drilled or broken, for example, it may
release fibers into the air. If it is left alone and not disturbed, it will not.
Damage and deterioration will increase the friability of asbestos-containing materials. Water
damage, continual vibration, aging, and physical impact such as drilling, grinding, buffing,
cutting, sawing, or striking can break the materials down making fiber release more likely.
Health Effects
Because it is so hard to destroy asbestos fibers, the body cannot break them down or remove
them once they are lodged in lung or body tissues. They remain in place where they can cause
disease.
There are three primary diseases associated with asbestos exposure:

Asbestosis

Lung Cancer

Mesothelioma

How to Avoid Asbestos Exposure


In order to avoid being exposed to asbestos, you must be aware of the locations it is likely to
be found. If you do not know whether something is asbestos or not, assume that it is until

it is verified otherwise. Remember that you cannot tell if floor or ceiling tiles contain asbestos
just by looking at them.
OSU Environmental Health and Safety has licensed asbestos abatement staff who can take
samples from materials in order to determine whether or not they contain asbestos. If you
need to have materials analysed or tested for asbestos, please contact EHS. Never try to take
a sample yourself unless you are licensed to do so.
If you have reason to suspect that something is asbestos, either because it is labelled as such,
or because it something that is likely to contain asbestos (9" floor tile, for example) ------ DO
NOT DISTURB IT.
Never...

Drill

Hammer

Cut

Saw

Break

Damage

Move

Disturb

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