Death Inside The Factory Gates

CANADA is giving its parliament a facelift, literally. It is cleansing the building of all the asbestos in 'acknowledgement' of the fact that it is a human health hazard. And quite appropriately it cannot expose the country's lawmakers to such a harmful substance. Ironically, it continues to export it to developing countries and, in fact, has the distinction of being the world's largest exporter of chrysotile (white) asbestos.

No money worries

the state of Victoria in Australia may alter the laws to allow families of victims of asbestos-related diseases to make claims for pain and suffering--even after the death of the victim. This move will ensure that victims do not spend their dying days pursuing compensation claims. The move comes a month after a Melbourne resident, Kerry-Ann Halleur, received a payout from the federal government the day before she died of mesothelioma, a tumour suspected to be caused by exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos at its worst

An epidemic of lung cancer caused by asbestos will sweep Europe, killing a quarter of a million men over the next 35 years, UK-based doctors have warned. "The figures are horrifying," says Julian Peto of the Institute of Cancer Research in London. The cancer, which used to be extremely rare, is becoming more common, he said. Deaths from mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung caused by exposure to asbestos, are expected to climb from 5,000 a year in 1998 to 9,000 a year by 2018. The epidemic will peak around 2020 and then decline.

SOUTH AFRICA

Five South African victims of asbestos poisoning have been told by the House of Lords that they can sue their former employer in the English Courts. The ruling means that the uk -based multinational Cape, which produces asbestos and exports it to Europe and the us , can be tried in England for breaching health and environmental standards overseas. The five claimants were exposed to blue or brown asbestos either at work or by living close to Cape's mills and mines in South Africa.

India: a junkyard?

A HUGE quantity of hazardous asbestos is finding its way into India. But the Union government seems to be silent over the issue. The Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF) had prepared a notification to ban its import that was withheld later. Officials in the MEF say the notification had been prepared when it was felt that asbestos waste was being imported in the country, but was later withdrawn as the government felt asbestos waste was not being imported after all.

SOUTH AFRICA

Twenty four black South African workers are planning to give evidence in London against three British companies, which they say poisoned them with asbestos and mercury. Reportedly, two workers have died from mercury poisoning in 1992, and hundreds from asbestos-related diseases after working at British plants set up in South Africa. In three separate legal actions, the companies - Cape Plc, Thor Chemicals Holdings Ltd and rtz - are accused of allowing their subsidiaries to flout safety standards required in the uk.

Fatal fibre

shaken out of apathy by a recent study on the health hazards posed by industrial fibre, the government finally announced a ban on asbestos from next year. The ban, which is already in effect in most other industrialised nations, came after a new study revealed that asbestos -- a heat-resistant fibre used in building insulation, roofing and filters -- took the lives of about 2,000 people in France every year. Asbestos has been found to induce lung cancers and other lethal respiratory ailments.

Asbestos-free clutch

Sundaram-Abex Limited, an Indian firm, has begun producing clutch facings free of asbestos. The company, which has been producing asbestos-free brake linings for years, recently imported technology for clutch facings with the same feature from a Spanish company, Saluda, at a cost of Rs 6 crore. The clutch facings will also be heat-resistant and more durable.

Asbestos affliction

The Supreme Court has directed all industries involved in mining or producing asbestos to create adequate healthcare mechanisms for diagnoses and treatment of workers engaged in these units. The industries have been asked to maintain a health record of every worker upto a period of 40 years from the beginning of employment, or 15 years after retirement or cessation of employment, whichever is later.

Asbestos convictions

SIX ASBESTOS companies have been convicted by a Baltimore Circuit Court jury in what is expected to be a model for the over 100,000 asbestos personal injury claims pending before federal and state courts across the United States.