Abstract:

Indian and Canadian reporters attended a press conference held by campaigners, trade unions, NGOs and victims to mark the visit of Quebec's Premier to Mumbai. The purpose of the event was to highlight Quebec's hypocritical stance regarding asbestos, a product being ripped out of public buildings in Quebec and exported in quantity to India. In a press release issued by the conference organizers they urged the Premier to: "act on the behalf of the people of Quebec and ensure that the export of Asbestos is stopped."

Songwriter and activist Alistair Hulett died suddenly in Glasgow, Scotland on January 28, 2010. With a handful of words, Alistair summed up the personal tragedies of so many asbestos victims and their families in his song "He Fades Away." Take just a couple of minutes to listen to it and you will remember why we fight so hard for an international ban on asbestos.
Our thoughts are with his partner, Fatima, his family and his friends in Scotland and Australia. The world is a sadder place without him.

Having previously banned the use of asbestos in construction materials (2008), from Jan 1, 2010 Taiwan prohibited asbestos from being added to composite resins (adhesives), waterproofing sealants, anti-corrosive paints, caulking, fireproofing, insulating materials, tape, cloth, rope, mats, filters and asphalt. Registration of new asbestos manufacturers and permission to use asbestos in the products listed above was prohibited from August 2009, (see EPA announcement in: EPM12-08 doc). An ongoing review of work with asbestos-containing building materials will be conducted as part of the EPA's remit to "safeguard the health of the nation and preserve a sustainable environment."

An international seminar is being held in Tokyo on February 2, 2010 to consider methods used by national governments to compensate victims whose exposure to asbestos was non-occupational. Speakers from France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK will detail schemes established in their countries for distributing benefits to this category of injured people. This meeting is being organized by the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency, the body responsible for setting up such a relief scheme in Japan.

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A planning application to develop a former asbestos site will be considered on January 11, 2009 by Halton Borough Council. No formal community consultation has been done and no environmental impact assessment has been carried out on the land where asbestos manufacturing and dumping took place for more than fifty years. Bereaved daughters Helen Wilson and Catherine Martley, whose father died of mesothelioma from schoolboy exposure to locally dumped asbestos waste, are appalled at the plans to build 100 homes and a hotel on the contaminated site.

An Asbestosis Workshop was held in New Delhi on December 21, 2009 by the Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI). Occupationally and environmentally caused cases of asbestosis diagnosed in Rajasthan were discussed. As a result of the presentations and discussions which took place during the day, it was announced that a working party would be convened to investigate occupational and environmental exposures to asbestos (See: Summary Report).

Carlos Minc, Brazil's Minister for the Environment, paid tribute to the work of factory inspector Fernanda Giannasi and her associates at ABREA - the Brazilian Association of the Asbestos-Exposed - during the opening of the first National Conference on Environmental Health in Brasilia on December 10, 2009. The official recognition of Engineer Giannasi's work was a unique government accolade as a campaigning individual or NGO fighting the country's powerful asbestos lobby had never before been honored by a government official.

What is being dubbed "the Great Asbestos Trial" began at 10 a.m. on December 10 at the Palace of Justice in Turin, Italy. In the courtroom were hundreds of observers including 150 lawyers, 100 journalists, 48 local officials and Judge Giuseppe Casalbore; missing were the defendants, former Eternit executives Stephan Schmidheiny and Jean-Louis de Cartier. Outside, asbestos victims from Italy, Switzerland, France and Belgium mounted protests and waved placards with slogans such as "Eternit: Justice," and "Mister Schmidheiny, we wait for you in Switzerland." The proceedings, which are being brought on behalf of 2,889 asbestos victims, will recommence on January 25. See: Field Report.

On November 24 the Wadsworth Prize for Business History will be presented to Geoffrey Tweedale, co-author, with Jock McCulloch, of Defending the Indefensible – The Global Asbestos Industry and its Fight for Survival, at a ceremony at the National Archives in Kew. This annual prize is awarded by the Business Archives Council for an outstanding contribution to the study of business history.
In a Review of this publication, Dr. Barry Castleman wrote: "This is an authoritative examination of how it has come about that most of the world's people still live in countries where asbestos is carelessly used, and global asbestos use is holding steady or rising in the new century ..."

According to recent data, between 2002 and 2009, asbestos-related fatalities increased by 69% in British Columbia and 39% in Quebec. Commenting on the new statistics, public health campaigner Kathleen Ruff compared the action of asbestos to that of landmines: "it goes on killing for decades and decades…. We need to recognize that this is a major health crisis in Canada that's ongoing and still increasing (in) numbers every year." See Canadian Press article

Brazilian efforts to address the country's emerging asbestos epidemic were publicized by events held in the states of Sγo Paulo, Alagoas and Minas Gerais from November 6 to 14, 2009. Asbestos victims, public health campaigners, trade unionists, medical professionals and politicans supported calls for a comprehensive ban on the mining and use of asbestos and asbestos-containing products. IBAS Coordinator Laurie Kazan-Allen, who participated in these meetings, said: "Despite the continued onslaught by asbestos lobbyists, progress is being made in phasing out the use of asbestos and highlighting the continuing tragedy of the country's asbestos injured."

Scores of prominent scientists from 28 countries have issued a challenge to the Premier of Quebec over his province's asbestos policy. Premier Jean Charest, due to travel to India on January 31, has been accused of putting politics before public health in his continued support for the asbestos industry in the face of damning evidence of a growing asbestos epidemic in Quebec mining regions and a global consensus that exposure to asbestos is hazardous to human health. The challenge comes just days before Charest is due to depart on a trade mission to India, Quebec's biggest asbestos customer. [article]

Nowadays, it is rare to find a product or service which has performed reliably for thirty years. Say, for example, a service which has been offered week in and week out by a core of dedicated individuals who have, at the same time as providing support for the injured, also driven forward improvements in the political, legal and social climate. The Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia (ADSA) is such a service. Formed in 1979 to meet the needs of ailing asbestos mineworkers, the ADSA is now one of the world's foremost authorities on the needs of people with asbestos-related diseases. [article]

The timetable set for a trial into the asbestos-related deaths of thousands of Italians, dubbed the Great Asbestos Trial, is bizarre. As hearings are only being held on Mondays from 9 a.m - 2:30 p.m., it is anticipated that the first part of this trial will last "at least 2 years." This scheduling will ensure that most of the seriously ill people on whose behalf this action has been mounted will have died before a resolution is reached. [article]

More than 6,000 people died as a result of the Great Hanshin earthquake, Japan's worst earthquake in decades. To mark the 15th anniversary of the natural disaster, several events were held on January 16 & 17, 2010 in Kobe; the subject matter discussed included the consequences of contamination caused by the liberation of asbestos from the built environment. At the street demonstration, meeting and symposium which were held to mark this tragedy, discussions centered on the lessons which could be learned and the practical steps which could be taken to protect the population. [article]

January, often regarded as the saddest month of the year in the northern hemisphere, has not been kind to Indian asbestos stakeholders. Developments this month reflect growing international concern over India's growing consumption of asbestos and illustrate the fears felt by many sectors of civil society over the consequences of using a carcinogen now banned in more than 50 countries. Actions taken by the Collegium Ramazzini, an internationally-recognized body of eminent medical experts, and Brazilian officials highlight the importance of efforts to end India's increasing reliance on asbestos. [article]

Killer Company, a book recently published in Australia, is a forensic examination of the behavior of Australia's leading asbestos company over several decades. In a review of this book, Dr. Joch McCulloch writes: “Killer Company is a major contribution to the literature on the asbestos industry. The book has grown out of Matt Peacock's sustained engagement with the issue of asbestos and health. It is based on long hours of archival work sorting through Hardie's internal correspondence. Peacock has also interviewed many of the key players. The result is an insight into the mentality and behavior of an important asbestos company.” [article]

International outrage, scientific warnings and political discontent are contributing to the build-up of pressure on the Canadian Government to reverse its asbestos policy. In recent weeks, British asbestos victims, Canadian public health experts and politicans have highlighted the deadly repercussions of Ottawa's pro-asbestos policy while ban asbestos campaigners in India have documented the human cost of increasing asbestos consumption. Even as asbestos mortality increases, Canadian asbestos stakeholders are looking for ways to expand production and increase sales to the developing world. [article]

An IBAS monograph documenting Asia's fight-back against asbestos pollution is being officially launched in December. During the course of asbestos meetings in New Delhi, Bangkok and Sao Paulo, ban asbestos activists Madhumita Dutta, Sanjiv Pandita, Sugio Furuya and Fernanda Giannasi will distribute copies of the monograph, which is a report focusing on the Asian Asbestos Conference 2009 (AAC 2009). Advance copies have already been distributed and a web version of the report is available on this site. Thanks to the detailed work of AAC 2009 speakers, knowledge of current conditions and emerging trends has been greatly improved. [article]

With cake and candles, IBAS celebrated it's 10th anniversary amidst friends and colleagues in Osasco, Brazil on November 14, 2009. Osasco, formerly the center of Brazil's asbestos-cement industry, is home to ABREA, the Brazilian association of the asbestos-exposed. From the very earliest days, IBAS worked closely with ABREA officials, members and supporters to highlight the Brazilian asbestos scandal and campaign for a global ban on asbestos. While progress has been made, much remains to be done before the goals of IBAS - a global ban on asbestos and justice for all asbestos victims - are achieved. The struggle continues. [article]

Brazil is the 4th largest asbestos producer and the 5th largest asbestos consumer in the world. Across the country, consumption patterns differ, however, as the use and sale of asbestos is banned in four states and several cities. Legislative bans which have been achieved are under attack by the asbestos lobby; vested interests are pursuing diverse strategies to counteract the asbestos prohibitions. A Sγo Paulo State Deputy has recently tabled a bill that could overturn the state asbestos ban. Politicans, asbestos victims and other pro-ban supporters are opposing this retrograde action. [article]

Even in the absence of asbestos bans in the U.S. and Canada, there is minimal use of asbestos in North America. Nevertheless, asbestos developments in both jurisdictions remain of intense interest to asbestos lobbyists. For decades, Canadian vested interests exploited the political fragility of the Canadian federation to stifle debate on asbestos; however, their ability to silence opponents and dictate that only pro-asbestos messages are broadcast is eroding. Whilst the lack of a U.S. asbestos ban remains of comfort to asbestos propagandists, developments on the West Coast indicate that mobilization of victims will, once again, force this issue onto the political agenda. [article]

From the article: "The Bill Gates of Switzerland" in Forbes Magazine, it would appear that Stephan Schmidheiny is a great man, a philanthropist and a visionary whose life is dedicated to promoting good causes. And yet the wealth which underpins his philanthropy comes from the exploitation of asbestos at Eternit factories worldwide. Throughout the Schmidheiny family's global empire, when workers died from asbestos-related diseases, the company denied liability and refused to provide support. Praising Schmidheiny's good works while neglecting the part the family played in the global asbestos epidemic is an insult to the injured. [article]

A call for new guidelines for emergency reconstruction efforts to avoid mistakes such as using asbestos has been issued by an Australian academic involved in an evaluation of the performance of humanitarian agencies in post-disaster housing. "Some of the houses that were made in Banda Aceh," Dr. David O'Brien said "were made from asbestos. Now you really hope they won't make that kind of mistake again. The people are aware that they are living in asbestos houses. They're not happy about living in asbestos houses." [article]

Asbestos was widely used in Korea throughout the twentieth century. As a consequence the recent discovery that more than half of Seoul's buildings were contaminated with asbestos should come as no surprise. The confirmation of the asbestos hazard in the built environment has further exacerbated the national disquiet over asbestos, an issue which exploded onto the public consciousness earlier this year with the discovery of asbestos contamination of baby powder sold throughout the country. As a result of the public furore and intense media coverage which ensued, asbestos became a hot topic in Korea. [article]

Dianne Willmore was a private person who did not seek the limelight. She was a 49-year-old mother of two children who had no interest in becoming a campaigning figure. The mestothelioma diagnosis she received changed all that. When she understood the importance of the link between her asbestos cancer and schoolday exposure to asbestos, she agreed for details of her case to be made public to help others who might be similarly affected. She died just hours after the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court ruling in her favor. [article]

The Asian Ban Asbestos Network (A-BAN) which was launched in April 2009 has already implemented a number of measures to raise awareness of the regional asbestos hazard. On September 21, 2009, an A-BAN meeting was held in Phon Penh, Cambodia. A-BAN has produced a series of video clips on asbestos in Asian languages which can be viewed online; work is ongoing on versions in other languages. [article]

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Street demonstrations in Japan

Under cloudy skies, members of Belgian and French Asbestos Victims' Associations from Dunkirk and Bourgogne marched side-by-side in the third annual demonstration organized by ABEVA, the Belgian Association of Asbestos Victims. Erik Jonckheere, ABEVA's Co-chairman, condemned the government which still refuses to recognize the plight of the asbestos injured.

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