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Asbestos Still Being Used in Other Countries
Despite the mounting evidence that exposure to asbestos can lead to the deadly disease mesothelioma and the continuing onslaught of litigation against companies who continued to produce the material or use it in their products after they knew it was harmful, companies are still mining asbestos. More shocking is that they are also pushing it on other countries with lobbyists and fraudulent public relation campaigns.A nine month investigation found that an international conglomerate of asbestos producers and lobbyist groups has spent almost $100 million since the 1980s in order to keep the substance legal and in use in developing countries. Although asbestos has claimed the lives of millions of workers and is prohibited or highly regulated in 52 countries, the group promoted the sale of approximately 2.2 million tons of it last year.
The foundation for the group is the Chrysotile Institute in Montreal, with a network of public and private backers, companies, scientists and friendly governments that stretches from India to Russia to Mexico. They spread the message that asbestos can be used safely under "controlled" conditions. Experts from health organizations around the world strongly disagree. They argue that the message assumes that employers will provide proper dust controls, ventilation and protective equipment for workers. However, such measures are uncommon in the developing world.
With massive lobbying efforts from Canada, the largest producer of asbestos, they have been able to stop legislation and treaties requiring warning labels on asbestos shipped to many countries. As a result, use of the substance is increasing rapidly in countries like China and India. The World Health Organization estimates 120 million workers come in contact with the substance every day.
Experts are warning of health epidemics in the future for these countries. Diseases such as lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma could claim hundreds of millions of lives in decades to come.