Asbestos Mining To Be Expanded?

Moves to expand asbestos mining

The Indian government has announced a study looking to expand asbestos mining in the country. It has asked the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) to work out necessary safeguards to resume mining.

A study conducted by IBM to assess the feasibility of lifting the ban on new and renewed mining licences, imposed in June 1993, recommended that the ban could be lifted if workplace asbestos exposures were controlled.

IBM has been asked to work out necessary safeguards/measures in consultation with CPCB [Central Pollution Control Board] subject to which chrysotile asbestos mining can be permitted so as to ensure workers' safety.

Indian officials are issuing planning permission in record time so that construction of new asbestos processing facilities can take place.

On January 1, 2006, production began at an asbestos-cement factory in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh in the north of India; the plant is located in the constituency of Sonia Gandhi. The manufacturers' intention is that the availability of locally produced asbestos-cement materials will lead to the replacement of traditional thatched roofs. Although production has started, medical check-ups for the workforce have not been completed nor has an independent agency been appointed to monitor workplace exposure levels, both of which are measures stipulated by the Supreme Court.

India, Southern Africa and Indonesia have been key areas for a renewed asbestos industry push to resurrect global asbestos trade.

The new PR campaign has relied heavily on materials provided by the Canadian government-backed asbestos industry lobby group, the Chrysotile Institute, which claim chrysotile asbestos presents no health risk.

This flies in the face of the position taken by the major occupational health bodies, safety organisations, the International Labour Organisation and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Unions are campaigning for a global asbestos ban.

Source: Risks, International Ban Asbestos Secretariat

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