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Home <http://www.scmp.com/> > India's asbestos industry thrives despite health warnings ------------------------------ India's asbestos industry thrives despite health warnings <http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1818222/indias-asbestos-industry-thrives-despite-health-warnings> [1] Submitted by yifei.chen on Jun 8th 2015, 2:04am * News›Asia›South Asia * * INDIA * Agence France-Presse in Ahmedabad Gripping his inhaler as he struggles to breathe, rake-thin Chinnapan Chinnakannu blames his years spent labouring in one of India's scores of asbestos cement factories for his illness. When he first started at the factory in western Gujarat state, Chinnapan said he was given protective clothing "but later they stopped providing us with masks and shoes". "Initially I suffered from breathlessness, but slowly the frequency increased and reached a point where I could hardly work," said Chinnapan, who was diagnosed with asbestosis, or scarring of the lungs, in 2007. "Slowly I started losing weight, I couldn't even drink water as it made me vomit immediately," the 64-year-old said in his one-bedroom house on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. A pariah product in most of the West, blamed for thousands of deaths, asbestos is hugely popular in the developing world - including in India, where it's a US$1.4 billion growing industry. Nations at a UN meeting in Geneva last month tried to add chrysotile, or white asbestos, to a list of dangerous substances subject to export restrictions. But the move was blocked by leading asbestos exporter Russia and other developing nations, a stance supported by India, one of the world's biggest importers. Activists and unions say that India's government must start to recognise the dangers that are posed by asbestos, whose fibres doctors worldwide say lodges in the lungs causing cancer and other diseases. More than 50 nations, including all members of the EU, have banned all forms of asbestos, which the World Health Organisation says kills at least 107,000 people annually. "The time has come to ban this product outright and India must see that. It's just too dangerous," said hazardous materials activist Gopal Krishna. New Delhi defended its position in Geneva, saying there was "no proof" India's asbestos factories or their products - used mainly in low-cost housing - are unsafe. Shashi Shekhar, India's top official in charge of hazardous materials and chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board, said he has commissioned a study into the possible health effects that would take up to two years to complete. "The whole world is talking about it [asbestos] in a grave way, and so we have to see whether they are right or wrong." The industry and other asbestos supporters say curly-fibred chrysotile is safe, and only other forms with more jagged fibres are dangerous. More than 50 factories throughout India use white asbestos as an ingredient in mainly cement roofing sheets, wall panels and pipes. More than 400,000 tonnes of asbestos is imported every year to feed the plants. More than 300,000 workers are employed in the factories, while thousands more tradesmen install the products. ------------------------------ *Source URL (modified on Jun 8th 2015, 2:26am):* http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1818222/indias-asbestos-industry-thrives-despite-health-warnings?utm_content=buffer21735&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer *Links* [1] http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1818222/indias-asbestos-industry-thrives-despite-health-warnings -- Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) ToxicsWatch Alliance Blog: banasbestosindia.blogspot.com Web: www.toxicswatch.org -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
