Asian Govts Expose Citizens to Asbestos

Asian governments neglecting their citizens health from the environmental and occupational hazards of asbestos

China, India, Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea are among the world’s top 10 asbestos consumers. But consumption in Japan and South Korea is decreasing while it is increasing in most other Asian countries. This reflects the broad picture: rich Asian countries are reducing asbestos consumption while the poorer ones are increasing it.

Types of asbestos being used

The three most common types of asbestos are:

• Chrysotile: This is the technical name of white asbestos. It accounts for as much as 90% of asbestos produced / exported / used worldwide. Pro-asbestos lobbies insist that this type of asbestos is not harmful if used in a controlled manner, but facts don’t support this theory.

• Amosite: This is brown or gray in color and is not widely used.

• Crocidolite (Riebeckite): This is blue in color and very little used.

It follows from the above that white asbestos is the world’s most widely available and used asbestos. Most references to asbestos are usually about white asbestos.

Diseases caused by asbestos

The main asbestos-related diseases are: asbestosis, and mesothelioma:

• Asbestosis: This is a non-malignant disease that affects both lungs. If exposure to asbestos dust continues, it can deteriorate to malignant mesothelioma.

• Mesothelioma: This is a malignant, usually fatal disease that affects the mesotheleum, the protective lining over the body’s internal organs (usually lungs). The disease is usually detected 10-50 decades after the causative asbestos exposure and survival period is less than two years post-detection in most cases.

Consumption of Asbestos in Asia

Following is an indicative picture of the asbestos consumption scene in some countries of Asia (2004 statistics sourced from Medscape, part of WebMD Health Professional Network):

Japan:
Asbestos consumption decreasing. Per capita consumption: 0.6kgAfter rampant use of asbestos in post-World War II reconstruction, Japan curtailed its asbestos consumption by 90% since October 2004.

With the damage already done, deaths from pleural mesothelioma will peak in 2030, a good 60 years after imports of asbestos peaked in the country।

Thailand: Asbestos consumption increasing Per capita consumption: 1.9kg Asbestos has been in use in Thailand for over 30 years. Its consumption more than doubled from 1987 to 2002 with supplies coming from Russia, Canada, Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Zimbabwe. Thailand is a classic case of the yawning gap that exists between law and reality in developing countries. The government banned imports of crocidolite in 1992 but imports continued at least until 2002 (together with imports of other types of asbestos). Vietnam: Asbestos consumption increasing Per capita consumption: 0.2 kg Among the smaller Asian nations, Vietnam is the country that is making the most serious efforts to ban asbestos altogether. The country has developed PVC manufacturing units that replace asbestos as raw material for piping. Yet, asbestos products are preferred because they are cheaper than PVC products. China: Asbestos consumption increasing Per capita consumption: 0.4kg China is one of the leading producers and users of asbestos in Asia and the world. This is despite the fact that the first case of asbestos-related cancer was detected in the country way back in the 1950s. Even today, Chinese workers and prisoners continue to work in asbestos-polluted environments with little protective gear and minimal safety system. India: Asbestos consumption increasing Per capita consumption: 0.2 kg India is both a producer and importer of asbestos. Domestic production meets with only 30% of the country’s asbestos needs and the rest is imported from Canada, Russia, and Zimbabwe. Sacks containing asbestos are opened by Indian workers with a knife without any protective mask and clothing. Pakistan: Asbestos consumption: rising Consumption: 4,000 tons While an asbestos ban remains a long-term goal in this country as in other countries of the region, occupational exposure to asbestos dust is the norm in the construction industry in Pakistan. In the region called NWFP, 601 cases of mesothelioma were detected between 1995-2003 though it is quite likely that a lot more cases were either not detected or not registered. South Korea: Asbestos consumption decreasing Per capita consumption: 0.5kg Malaysia: Asbestos consumption: No change Per capita consumption: 0.9kg Indonesia: Asbestos consumption increasing Per capita consumption: 0.3kg Philippines: Asbestos consumption increasing Per capita consumption: Singapore: Asbestos consumption almost nil Per capita consumption: 0kg Taiwan: Asbestos consumption decreasing Per capita consumption: 0.2kg

Conclusion Asia is a continent of stark contrasts, with Japan and South Korea at the top of the ladder and some of the world’s poorest countries at the bottom rung. The trend is that the rich countries are steadily decreasing their use of asbestos while the poorer countries increasing it. Rich countries have the option to migrate their hazardous industries to poorer neighbors, a move that the poor will welcome. Thus, Asia represents the true story of asbestos: the rich have had enough and stopped or curtailed it drastically, while the poor need to have more, howsoever reluctantly. Summary of Asbestos use in Asia As asbestos demand shrinks in the West, exporters are developing new markets in Asia. The richer Asian countries are declining their consumption of all types of asbestos – with Singapore having touched zero point. On the other hand, cash-strapped Asian nations are increasing consumption of white asbestos, probably drawing false solace from the theory that this type of asbestos is less toxic. Even if one were to defy informed opinion and lend some credence to this theory, prospects in the poorer Asian countries remain grim because of no or woefully inadequate enforcement of precautionary and protective measures.