At least 10 million lives will be lost worldwide to asbestos related diseases said a 2004 report from the journal, Environmental Health Perspectives.
Since then other countries have produced their own alarming figures. The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have said: “Every week, 20 tradesmen in the UK die from asbestos related diseases.”
Asbestos Exposure
An article in Canada’s Hill Times in August 2005 said: “Support for asbestos makes Canada an international pariah.” NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre, Pat Martin, who as a young man had worked in asbestos mines in the Yukon, continued by calling for a global ban on the production and sale of asbestos. Mr Martin’s comments were made in the light of the news that his friend and fellow MP Chuck Strahl had developed Mesothelioma, an asbestos related cancer.
Now, the costly restoration of Canada’s Parliament buildings, which has meant the removal of hazardous asbestos insulation, has re-ignited the debate.
Asbestos Health Hazards
So, just over three years on has much changed in Canada? The answer is probably not much. In 2006 Pat Martin said: “Despite full knowledge of the health hazards posed by asbestos, Canada is opposing a proposal that would restrict its international sale.”
In 2007 The Canadian Cancer Society was still calling for the phasing out of both the use and export of asbestos.
Asbestos - a Sacred Cow
Pat Martin is still campaigning. He said in October 2008, on the NDP website: “The sad truth is asbestos continues to be a sacred cow to governments because the lone surviving mine with its 700 jobs is located in the one-industry Quebec town of Thetford Mines.”
He goes on to pose the question: “How can Canada argue that a commodity that the government says is too dangerous to permit on domestic construction sites is OK for a developing world…?”
It’s not only a question for serious discussion among the producer countries like Canada, Russia, China and others. The raised voices of the developing world can now be heard.
Asbestos in India
The respected Indian on-line news source Tehelka in a recent article highlighted the appalling situation not only in India but also across Asia where asbestos is widely used for insulation and asbestos-cement products like pipes and roofing.
Tehelka, in reference to an employee from an Indian based asbestos product company says he is one of 41, out of 181 employees, a staggering percentage, that are certified victims of asbestosis.
Mesothelioma
The article describes the distressing affects of Mesothelioma: “What begins as a pronounced shortness of breath and a rasping incessant cough quickly degenerates. The victim suffers rapid weight loss, and coughs out sputum...” Mesothelioma is fatal, it always wins.
These dreadful symptoms are multiplied across the developing world and because they can take 20 years to emerge it seems to be a problem with no end in sight.
Asbestos Producing Countries
While the national governments of the asbestos producing countries argue that if a total world ban of production was put in place, there would be many job losses and economic hardship for the communities involved. But is that a valid argument when so many people in so many countries are dying in such an unpleasant way?
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