The etymology of the word 'asbestos' can be traced to the Greek language where it means 'indestructible'. The tensile strength and resilient structural and chemical properties of asbestos fibres are ideally suited for various construction, insulation and other industrial purposes. Upwards of 5,000 products contain asbestos.
The building industry uses it for reinforcing cement and plastics, fireproofing, sound absorption as well as in insulating applications. Shipbuilders utilise asbestos to insulate boilers, steam pipes and hot water pipes. The automotive industry uses it in vehicle brake shoes and clutch pads.
In the case of these automotive friction components, exposure to asbestos is not just an occupational hazard. Its fibres are released into the ambient air each time the clutch and brake pedals are used. With the ever-increasing number of vehicles in cities, this public health problem can assume serious proportions. Despite this sources at the Central Pollution Control Board (cpcb) concede that no monitoring of asbestos fibre in ambient air is being done. Under the Air Pollution (prevention and control) Act of 1981, asbestos concentration in ambient air should be in the range of 0-0.0005 fibre per cubic centimetre (fibre/cc).
"The world over, industry is moving towards asbestos-free brake lining and we need to do the same," says B Sengupta, member secretary, cpcb. Material such as glass wool and mineral wool are cleaner alternatives for use in friction products. The Green Rating of the Indian Industry Project of the Centre for Science and Environment has, meanwhile, found that almost 40 per cent of the automobile companies have moved towards using non-asbestos brake shoes and other friction material.
At the workplace, mechanics and brake workers can be exposed to asbestos dust in different ways, including during cutting, scraping, grinding brake shoes and refurbishing brakes or clutches. "There has not been much change in the ground situation. Much of the problem stems from the fact that rules and regulations are poorly implemented," feels Ravi Agarwal, head of Srishti, a non-governmental organisation (ngo) based in Delhi.
As for the use of asbestos in cement products, research studies have thrown up different findings. According to Brooke Mossman of the University of Vermont (us), an authority in the field of health effects of asbestos and fibres, asbestos in cement pipes or sheeting is not a risk to the general public as the fibres are in a matrix and cannot break into smaller particles even with weathering. Arthur Frank from the University of Tyler, Texas, usa, however, says: "Asbestos cement breaks down over time and its fibres become free."
A factsheet on asbestos brought out by Toxics Link, a New Delhi-based ngo, states that asbestos mining and milling activity is concentrated in the small-scale sector in India, whereas its products are manufactured by the small, medium and large-scale sectors. But the inconspicuous small-scale units are the biggest violators of the existing environmental regulations.
These tiny factories, whose number is burgeoning, manufacture a range of goods -- from friction products such as brake shoes and clutch linings to asbestos cement pipes and sheets. They also produce gaskets and seals. The small-scale industry (ssi) blatantly flouts rules on exposure levels of asbestos fibre, occupational safety and waste disposal (see table: Types of air pollutants from asbestos-related activities). Down To Earth conducted a survey of some of the small friction products units in and around Delhi. To be sure, some of them had installed equipment like the dust collector to prevent occupational exposure. But others were functioning without any precautionary devices.
Interestingly, the ssi too has someone to complain about -- the ultra small-scale sector. The owner of a unit alleges that in the past six months he has twice come across one-room factories manufacturing products of their brand. "The condition of such units is appalling. I saw workers covered with asbestos dust from head to toe," he reveals.
Significantly, this industry functions through an organised network. There is a manufacturer who makes spurious friction products from an unregistered factory (one was recently caught in the Kirti Nagar area of Delhi) and caters to different packers. They in turn pack these goods in cartons of noted brands, dispatching the consignment to the Kashmere Gate area in the capital -- one of the largest automobile spare parts markets in Asia. "Such products sell for almost one-fifth the price of genuine spares," reveals an auto spare parts wholesaler and adds candidly: "I sell 10 spurious spares for every genuine part." Though no data is available about the ultra small-scale sector, estimates suggest that lakhs of workers across the country are exposed every day to deadly asbestos fibres while working in these units.
"We had done a survey of registered and unregistered small-scale asbestos products factories in 1995," discloses A S Sood, deputy director, development commissioner's office for ssis. "To our dismay, we found that 90 per cent of the units had no mechanisms to prevent occupational exposure to asbestos fibre. Worse still, they were not functioning properly in the few units that had installed them," he adds.
"The use of asbestos should not be allowed in the unorganised sector at present. At the same time, the functioning of the larger players too needs to be strictly regulated," opines Sengupta. Senior mef officials and ssi top brass share his view. In this connection, the mef's office memorandum dated August 21, 2001, observes that asbestos industries have come under close scrutiny worldwide and several developed countries are jettisoning asbestos due to its known adverse impact on health.
Recently a committee appointed under the interim secretariat for the Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade has concluded that all forms of asbestos should be subjected to trade controls. A unep committee of government-appointed experts has decided that all types of asbestos will be added to an international list of chemicals subject to trade controls.
But India is progressing at a snail's pace. The Rajagopalan committee that was scheduled to review Indian regulations and report to the policy implementation cell of the Union commerce and industry ministry by November 15, 2001, has held just one meeting to date. Some activists and occupational health experts allege that the committee may be under pressure from the powerful asbestos industry to delay tougher regulations in line with global standards. The panel comprises the member-secretary of cpcb, director of National Institute of Occupational Health, director-general of mines safety, director of itrc and director-general of National Council for Cement and Building Materials.
Senior mef officials have informed Down To Earth that in the first meeting there had been suggestions to make emission standards more stringent for asbestos product-manufacturing units. Currently the permissible level for the workplace is two fibres per normal metre cube (Nm 3 ), which is 20 times the world's best standard. "There were suggestions to reduce this to 0.5 Nm 3 ," says the source. But this is still five times the global limit.
Other retrograde steps have also been brought to light. Activists claim that India has been reducing the customs duty on asbestos fibre in recent years (from 78 per cent in 1995-96 to 25 per cent in 1999-2000), thus promoting the use of the product. India imports around one lakh tonnes of chrysotile asbestos. Furthermore, during 1997-98 the number of industrial sectors subject to licensing was reduced from 14 to nine. The de-licensed industries include asbestos units.
So far as the disposal of asbestos-containing wastes is concerned, the mef is currently working on some guidelines. "It may take a while," says Lakshmi Raghupati, additional director with the ministry. But, surprisingly, instead of involving all the stakeholders in the formulation of the rules, the mef has adopted a document prepared by industry body aic as a preliminary draft. "It is surprising that the ministry has decided to adopt the guidelines prepared by the asbestos industry itself. It is not even ready to discuss the subject with us," says Madhumita Dutta, central coordinator, Toxics Link.
Looking ahead, Agarwal recommends a switchover from asbestos to human-made fibres. "It is true that the replacement will be expensive. But the costs incurred would be similar if the industry has to pay compensation and invest in protective gear," he points out. Agarwal adds that the cost of alternatives can be prevented from spiralling if "unnecessary tariffs and technological barriers" are done away with.
Noble thoughts. But till they are translated into concrete action by the authorities, gullible Indian labourers will continue getting caught in the death trap of asbestos dust.
Types of air pollutants from asbestos-related activities | |
Sources | Pollutants |
Asbestos mining and milling | Fibre, dust |
Asbestos bag opening and grinding | Fibrous dust (fibre + suspended particulate matter, ie, SPM) |
Main cement silos, plant cement silos, transfer lines | Cement dust (SPM) |
Storage of oxidants, colouring agents, metal powders | Miscellaneous dust (SPM) |
Raw materials mixing | Asbestos dust, cement dust and miscellaneous dust (fibre + SPM) |
Pulverising broken/rejected pieces | Mixed dust (fibre + SPM) |
Cutting and finishing operations | SPM |
LDO baking ovens and furnaces | Soot, fumes, CO (carbon monoxide), NOx (oxides of nitrogen), SO2 (sulphur dioxide), phenolic gas, ammonia, aldehydes |
Boilers, incinerators | SPM, NOx, SO2 |
Source: Anon 2002, Factsheet on asbestos, Toxics Link, New Delhi, P5 |