Archives

Asbestos is a natural mineral given to us by Mother Nature, which has been used and perhaps misused for many decades in over three-thousand applications by many industries in many countries.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US Bureau of mines reportedly do not consider the dust from Chrysotile to be a particularly dangerous material. Any excessive dust can cause problems. Cotton gins used to cause brown lung among the labour force before steps were taken to keep dust levels at a safe level. That does not stop people from wearing cotton T-shirts and nice absorbent cotton under-wear.

Regarding the release of asbestos fibre into the environment due to the use of chrysotile cement sheets, EHC53 of WHO/IPCS quotes "the total amount of asbestos emitted into environment due to its natural occurrence is much higher than its industrial use". Studies conducted in Austria, South Africa and Germany has dust levels of 0.0001 to 0.005 fibres/cc of air in the neighbourhood of chrysotile cement sheet roofs. These levels, as per the above publication are far from any suspicion of causing asbestos related disease.

In the western world, other varieties of asbestos, namely amosite and crocidolite (blue Fibre) were used primarily for friable products. Such products used asbestos in its free form mainly for the purpose of insulation which have since been considered a health risk by various governments and banned over a period of time commencing from 1970.

Such products were never manufactured nor used in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is not relevant to us.

Various manufacturers use alternative fibres. However, the cost and life of the roofing sheets produced using these fibres are not economical. The alternative fibres too pose health risks, unless proper precautionary measures are taken.

Furthermore the technology used in this industry has improved vastly. The production process is a close loop wet process, which means no particles are released to the working atmosphere keeping dust levels well within industrial limits. This is specifically mentioned in the WHO EHC 203 which states that asbestotic changes occur at an exposure level of 5 to 25 fibres per cc in the air. The present level is generally 2 fibres per cc, which is well within the finding above and thus should not pose a health hazard occupationally. All scientific studies on neighbourhood exposures of chrysotile fibres are concluded with negative results.

Since today's plants are highly efficient waste production is negligible and is in any event completely recycled within the plant's premises. This coincides with a WHO press release in 1996 which states: "in general, exposure levels in the production and processing of chrysotile, which were very high in the past, dropped significantly in the late 1970 and have continued to decline to present-day low levels."

According to WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality 2nd ed. Vol

1. recommendations:

There is no consistent evidence that ingested asbestos is hazardous to health, and thus it was concluded that there was no need to established a health-based guideline value for asbestos in drinking-water."

In Sri Lanka it is used primarily in the manufacture of corrugated roofing materials. These materials use only ten per cent asbestos with the balance 90% being cement and moisture. In Sri Lanka friable products were never manufactured. Hence the question of ban and phase out does not arise and is irrelevant.

In July 1989, The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final ruling banning most products containing asbestos. However in 1991 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned this regulation. As a result only Flooring Felt, Commercial Paper, Corrugated Paper, Rollboard and Specialty paper of asbestos products remained banned with the rest permissible for import and manufacture in USA.

Therefore, Roofing products are not hazardous. We may note that information is twisted to give a different meaning.

A National Standard has in its scope a specification that is prescribed for each product to maintain uniformity and interchangeability.

Such standards exist for several products as well as for Asbestos Cement Sheets not only in Sri Lanka But also by International Standards Organisations, besides British, Canada, India, Indonesia and other countries.

Certification by SLS is limited to assurance of conformity to standard. For example Asbestos Mines in Canada and Brazil are given certification of ISO-14001 for Environmental Management. Several Asbestos Cement Manufacturers also have been awarded ISO-9001 and ISO-14001 in Sri Lanka as well as in other countries by reputed inspection agencies.

The American Lung Association said their website lungusa.org - "smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer, 87% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking." Radon is considered to be the second cause of lung cancer in the US...12% of all lung cancer deaths are linked to radon.

Although the finding mentions asbestos briefly among one per cent, it very clearly identifies other main polluters as uranium, arsenic and certain petroleum products. Asbestos's inclusion is probably due to the manufacture of friable products in the distant past.

It has also been accepted that many third-parties with alternative products and the prospect of financial gain propagated the anti-asbestos lobby and sentiment in the western world. It is also unfortunate that such parties were given the necessary ammunition due to the products being manufactured only in the west which were clearly identified as carcinogenous.

Prof. Art Robinson of Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine clearly states, "Asbestos was an early victim of junk science an enviro-fear propaganda. Environment activists were joined by opportunist lawyers and businessmen who reaped large profits from anti-asbestos programs."

We are absolutely confused with the various writers interest in public health based on asbestos. There are more important issues at hand. Why not pursue more proven agendas such as alcohol and tobacco rather than focus on unproven, irrelevant asbestos in roofing and waste time energy and money.

Any interested person could directly contact/communicate with us, we are confident that we can provide sufficient documentary evidence, on Asbestos products, rather than giving false information to the public.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager