Action on the Asbestos Hazard in the Pacific Region
Mobilization on the asbestos hazard has been ongoing in Pacific Islands Countries and Territories (PICTs) for a number of years, with work by personnel from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) – “the lead regional organisation for the protection and sustainable development of Pacific island environments” – and partnering organizations bringing positive results, such as the 2024 ban on asbestos imports and use in the Republic of Nauru (gazetted on October 10 and 30, respectively).1
In other PICTs, progress is being made under SPREP’s European Union-funded Pacific Waste Management Program (PacWaste Plus) “to sustainably and cost-effectively improve regional management of waste and pollution:”2
- Tonga has adopted/endorsed an Asbestos Management Code of Practice (AMCOP);
- draft AMCOPs exist now for Niue, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea;
- building codes developed with support from the Pacific Regional Infrastructure Facility (PRIF) in Nauru, Solomon Islands and Kiribati now contain sections requiring the preparation of Asbestos Removal Control Plans and “safe work method statements” for demolition and other actions necessitating asbestos removal;
- Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Kiribati building codes are being updated to reference their draft AMCOPs;
- new technology and technical specialists have been employed to identify environmental asbestos contamination and examine the challenges posed by disposal of asbestos-containing waste.3
Highlighting the proactive approach now being taken on asbestos, the Director of the Tuvalu Department of Waste Management (DWM) Mr Epu Falega said:
“By learning the location and quantity of asbestos in the Outer Islands means we can manage the interaction with the asbestos, employ safe practices if there is any disaster situation, and make a plan for its eventual removal and remediation.”4
Five thousand miles from Tuvulu, delegates to the November 2024 conference Building Momentum: Banning Asbestos in Southeast Asia called on the Malaysian Government “to stop unnecessary deaths of workers and consumers from [exposures] to chrysotile asbestos… by implementing an immediate nationwide ban on asbestos.”5 In the shadow of the UN’s 29th Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP29) which took place in Azerbaijan on November 11-22, 2024, the non-sustainability of asbestos technology makes it clearer than ever that the future is asbestos free.
December 2, 2024
_______
1 SPREP. Annual Report 2020.
https://library.sprep.org/sites/default/files/2021-09/sprep-ar-report-2020-eng.pdf
2 SPREP. The European Union-funded Pacific Waste Management, PacWaste Plus programme.
https://www.sprep.org/news/pacific-island-countries-efforts-toward-asbestos-containing-material-ban-presented-at-2023-aban-conference
3 SPREP. Protecting communities in Tuvalu from the threat of asbestos. 11 Jul 2024.
https://www.sprep.org/news/protecting-communities-in-tuvalu-from-the-threat-of-asbestos
4 ibid.
5 Joint Press Release. Call for urgent action to ban asbestos in Malaysia. November 20, 2014.
http://ibasecretariat.org/abansea-2024-conf-press-release-nov-20-2024.pdf
