Scientists Ask For Global Asbestos Ban

Scientists Press For Global Asbestos Ban

I posted this in Science & Tech as this story was triggered by Scientists.

A call for the global ban on all forms of asbestos was made today by more than 150 international organizations.

The statement, released Tuesday, calling for the ban on the mining, use and export of all form of asbestos has already been approved by over 150 public health organizations and scientists from at least 20 countries.

Source

Related Asbestos Thread

Criminal Charges in Italy for Canadian Asbestos.

“I used asbestos as an example and the audience of about 1,000 people was alarmed,” Soskolne said, “and felt quite strongly that we should be encouraging the governments of Quebec and Canada to cease the business of asbestos and to ban the product.”

Source

It's actually a little strange that countries that ban the use of a product in their own can sell to another freely. In some cases it could be understood, as I believe Caffeine is forbidden for human consumption in China but sold to other countries*****, but something like Asbestos is clearly known to cause serious ill effects on people, and there really is no justification for it.

Similar to that would be some deadly pesticides that are still used in some countries but not others.

www.malaria.org...

reply to post by boncho


they want to ban Asbestos? sounds good to me! (based upon what i have heard of it)

also, malcom in the middle "blu-ello"

Lol remember that episode? haha.



this is a step in the right direction, i was wondering when they would get around to it.


peace.

reply to post by SoymilkAlaska

this is a step in the right direction, i was wondering when they would get around to it.

This is a very serious case of money influencing policy. There is no reason why a product like this would be sold to other countries when the effects of it are well known and documented from the originating country.

And while it looks like a step in the right direction, nothing has happened yet. A call for something does not always lead to action.

In any case, here is some background on Asbestos if you are not that familiar:

Asbestos is the generic name for a variety of fibrous minerals found naturally in rock formations around the world. Because asbestos fibres are strong, durable and non-combustible, they were widely used by industry, mainly in construction and friction materials. Commercial asbestos fibres belong in two broad mineralogical groups: serpentine (chrysotile) and amphibole (tremolite, actinolyte and others).

www.hc-sc.gc.ca...

Asbestos has been classified as a known human carcinogen (a substance that causes cancer) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the EPA, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (2, 3, 7, 8). Studies have shown that exposure to asbestos may increase the risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma (a relatively rare cancer of the thin membranes that line the chest and abdomen). Although rare, mesothelioma is the most common form of cancer associated with asbestos exposure. In addition to lung cancer and mesothelioma, some studies have suggested an association between asbestos exposure and gastrointestinal and colorectal cancers, as well as an elevated risk for cancers of the throat, kidney, esophagus, and gallbladder (3, 4). However, the evidence is inconclusive.

www.cancer.gov...

More found here as well.

www.lung.ca...

reply to post by boncho


In October it will be 12 years since my dad died of absestosis. He was exposed to asbsestos, ironically, while building our local hospital (it was all abated several years ago). His treatment has a current outstanding debt of around 180k. Every single penny that was gained through claims made via the class action settlements has been applied to his medical and burial expenses. Since he was in his late 40's when he died, it is obvious that he hadn't made the most solid of plans for continuation should he die. So there was nothing like retirement or life insurance monies available. He was a hard working laborer, and had the lack of wealth accumulation to back it up.

There is little money left in the funding for people who die from asbestos exposure. Most of those companies don't even exist any more (out of business, bought our, or used some legal voodoo to recreate themselves).

I am a 100% firm opponent of asbestos. And finding that Canada is exporting the stuff is quite surprising.

I'm geologist at an iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia which has the highest natural occurence of asbestos in Australia. One of my jobs is actually to train people on the dangers of asbestos and how to identify it. I deal with this stuff everyday. The amount of care we take when dealing with this it is incredible. We are located 150km away from Wittenoom which is a ghost down built around an old asbestos mine, abandoned in the 1980's and contains blue asbestos (crocidolite) absolutely everywhere. It was a place of many many deaths and some of the largest asbestos related lawsuits in Australia

But asbestos is still present in almost all large cities around the world. If you live near any relatively buit up area you could be breathing up to a million asbestos fibres each year. In fact he average 70 year old lung can host hundreds of thousands of asbestos fibres per gram of lung tissue, which is a hell of a lot considering a set of lungs can weigh about 2 or 3kgs. One of the reasons asbestos fibres are so dangerous is simply cos the lung cannot break them down, so they stay in there more or less forever. The other main reason it is dangerous is that it can break up into incredibly small needle-like fragments which can, if you breathe enough of it in actually pierce the DNA part of the cells lining your lungs which in turn can cause cellular mutations.

People get freaked out when they hear the word asbestos, but for better or worse coming down with asbestos related lung diseases is based on a number of factors including genetic susceptibility (though if you breathe enough of it in good genes won't protect you).

BigFurryTexan I am deeply sorry for your loss. But one thing to bear in mind is that you too may carry the genes which will also make you susceptible too so you must be extra cautious.

I'm all for banning asbestos, especially when it's just going to be exported to 2nd or 3rd world countries where the proper precautions just aren't taken.

This is Wittenoom



And I had to throw in this video. Every Australian will recognise the song. It was written by an activist band called Midnight Oil regarding the lawsuits against CSR, a sugar refining/mining company who owned the mine at Wittenoom.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Cost of treatment seems to outweigh any profit that could be made on the stuff in the first place. Which means it has a negative impact on the economy. I like to see those numbers to know for sure though, x-Amount of money from mining and sale, y-amount of money used to treat people sick from it.

reply to post by 1littlewolf


Thanks for the post. Very cool and some stuff in there I didn't know.

reply to post by boncho


While that would be an interesting ratio to look at, the reality is that true economic impact goes far, far beyond just those two simple metrics. One thing that would really impact the true representation of fact would be how asbestos affects the durability of what it is built from. For example, asbestos brake pads last 10 times longer than what we use today. So the savings of materials, etc would have to be factored in. Plus the positive impact on the economy of having a shorter duration or lifespan, and keeping money moving (which means "jobs created").

But when you add it all up, it even though i suspect asbestos still is a net win for humanity when you speak of economy, the cost of just 1 single life to it from cancer negates that entirely.

reply to post by boncho


Your thread getting the word out. There are still many people in the world that have not heard of the dangers of asbestos. And there are still corporations, out of greed, that are saying that with a new kind of coating or a specific shape to the tiny fiber asbestos, there might be safety. There is no safety. None of the 'new' claims for safety have been tested and because the diseases may not show up for decades, there is safety, for the corporations, to make profit and delay claims.

Mesothelioma Law Firm Applauds EPA Statement: "There is No Safe Level of Exposure to Asbestos"

And an older story - the 9/11 aftermath and asbestos and telling New Yorkers that the air was safe to breathe.

Safe levels of asbestos, by John Henshaw