Ms Mamata
Banerjee
Hon'ble Chief
Minister
Government of
West Bengal
Kolkata
Subject-Kind Attention:
Hon'ble Chief Minister West Bengal w.r.t. Hon’ble High Court’s order and need
to make West Bengal free of cancer causing white asbestos fibers
Dear Mamata Banerjee
Jee,
With reference to
Hon’ble Calcutta High Court’s order on carcinogenic-asbestos that has been used
for roofing in the Hon’ble Court’s main building, this is to draw your kind
attention towards a serious unprecedented environmental and occupational health
crisis with regard to the unnoticed epidemic of asbestos related diseases in
West Bengal in particular and in our country in general.
We submit that in Writ
Petition (Civil). No. 14729 (W) of 2016, the Division Bench of Acting Chief
Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty has passed the verdict
observing, “The High Court main building is undergoing repairs with the
assistance of the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Government of West
Bengal and other Authorities. When the entire renovation is undertaken, it is
expected that the High Court and the PWD or, any other body entrusted with the
renovation will ensure that the asbestos-sheets, which have been used for
roofing, would be replaced by any other materials which are non-carcinogenic.”
We submit that prior to
this when you were the Hon’ble Union Railway Minister the ministry had ordered
removal of asbestos roofs from all railway buildings. It is noteworthy that the
ministry has invited offers for “Procurement of Non-Asbestos “K” Type
Composition Brake Blocks”. The offer has been issued by Director, Railway
Stores (W) or and on behalf of Hon’ble President of India.
We submit that in a
reply dated July 5, 2012 Deputy Secretary, Labour Department, Government of
West Bengal has enclosed the reply dated May 30, 2012 of R C Dutta,
Director/Chief Inspector of Factories, Government of West Bengal wherein he
status of asbestos factories its adverse impact in the State has been
submitted. In the submission it is
reported that there are 4 units in the district of Paschim Medinipur (1) UAL
Bengal (Prop. Utakal Asbestos) Vill. Tungadhowa, Guptamani-Kultikiri Road (2)
Ramco Industries Ltd., Vill. Dewanmaro Ayma, P.O. Hariatara, (3) Neelachal
Natural Resources Pvt Ltd., P.O. Manickpara and (4) Visaka Industries Vill.,
Chang sole, P.O. Saiyadpur. It reveals that “Six persons of UAL Bengal (Prop.
Utakal Asbestos) having some respiratory ailments, diagnosed as suffering from
Pulmonary Koch’s were treated and subsequently fit to join work in the non-dust
area.”
It discloses that in
the Everest Industries Ltd., 1, Taratala Road, P.O. Garden Reach in the
District of Kolkata “One person having some abnormality in X-Ray Chest,
diagnosed as fibrotic lung disease (?) were made unfit and alternate placement
facilities were provided.” It has
reported in the submission that the operation of Unit Sarbamangala Industries,
34 B, B.T. Road, Kolkata-700002 is closed for last two years. Its management
has been asked to maintain the health records of the workers. It is reported
that Mahendra Tubes Ltd. NH-31, Birpara Gairkata Road, Vill. P.O. Sakuajhara,
Dist. Jalpaiguri is in irregular operation and the workers are not fixed and
permanent. Its management has been asked to maintain the health records of the
workers. With reference to J.D Jones Ltd. Howrah, it has been reported that at
present it is having no process/work involved in asbestos handing. Its
management has been asked to maintain the health records of the workers. The
reply submits that “No case of compensation has been reported in the above
units though alternate facility has been recommended for few workers in some
units on medical ground”.
We submit that this
reply appears to constitute a blatant case of adoption of Ostrich policy the
State Government. It is refusing to admit to emergence of asbestos related
diseases in these factory units of the State.
We submit that the
government agencies like Directorate General, Factory Advice Service and Labour
Institutes (DGFASLI) took note of Prevalence of Asbestosis and Related
Disorders in a Asbestos Fiber Processing Unit in West Bengal as early as in
1996. Reference: Prevalence of Asbestosis and Related Disorders in a Asbestos
Fiber Processing Unit in West Bengal, http://www.dgfasli.nic.in/newsletter/jan_march_96.pdf
We submit that as per
Environmental Impact Assessment Manual for Asbestos Based Industries, Union
Ministry of Environment & Forests, type and quantity of solid waste
generated during the construction and operational stages is to be quantified.
In case of expansion of the unit, the solid waste generated category wise
should be furnished. For disposing asbestos waste mate rial the norms notified
under Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules,
2008 and the recommendations as per IS: 11768 – 1986 (Reaffirmed 2005) is
required to be followed. "All asbestos waste must be kept in closed
containers before its transportation to the disposal point so that no asbestos
dust is emitted into the environment during transportation. Final covering of
asbestos waste, other than high-density waste, shall be to a minimum depth of
2m and the asbestos waste including the used bag filters should be disposed at
an approved TSDF." It must be noted that there is no mention of Hazardous
Waste Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) for the waste
generated for the asbestos factories in the State. The reply and the submission
do not reveal the status of the procurement of asbestos based products by the
State Government and the residents of the State. It has failed to report
whether the State has the environmental and occupational health infrastructure
in place to diagnose asbestos related diseases.
We submit that it has been estimated that one person dies from mesothelioma
for every 170 tons of asbestos consumed. WHO estimates we have107,000 deaths
worldwide per year from occupational exposure to asbestos.If non occupational
exposure is added it reaches a figure of about 120,000 deaths. Average world
consumption/year 30-60 years ago was -- looks like 3/2 of what it is now (2
million metric tons/year). Give India its share of that based on its share of
global consumption. At 300,000 tons in 2013, that's about 18,000 deaths (15% of
120,000). Asbestos diseases have a very long incubation period. So if you
are exposed today to an asbestos fibre, you are likely to get the disease in
next 10-35 years. Asbestos is like a time bomb to the lungs and Indians will
suffer the most. If it is banned today that does not mean people will not
suffer. Because of past usage people will continue to suffer from these
diseases.
We submit that the
Hon’ble Calcutta High Court has recorded that “there is sufficient study
material indicating that asbestos sheets used for roofing could cause cancer”
and “various documents, issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), and
other materials obtained from the Internet, that the exposure to asbestos
including chrysotile causes lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.” It was
contended by the petitioner that “the High Court should not continue to use
these materials for roofing, especially after legislation in different parts of
the world has been enacted on recognizing the potential health risk of asbestos
to the citizens at large. Even in India several Acts recognized the fact that asbestos
is a health-hazard.”
We submit that there is
hardly any building in West Bengal which is asbestos free. It is high time
efforts are initiated to decontaminate asbestos laden public and private
buildings.
We submit that prior to
Hon’ble High Court’s verdict, Kerala State Human Rights Commission recommended
ban on use of asbestos roofs for schools and hospitals in its order dated n
31st January, 2009.
We submit that National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has passed an order in Case No: 693/30/97-98
recommending that the asbestos sheets roofing should be replaced with roofing
made up of some other material that would not be harmful.
We submit that globally
asbestos industry is on trial. Countries after countries are passing verdicts
against it. They are banning future use of the cancer causing mineral fiber of
asbestos. Government of India is publicly revealing that it does not favour new
asbestos plants in the country any more. There is a compelling logic emerging
for pre-existing asbestos based plants to shift to non-asbestos based building
materials. It is not surprising that "The Government of India is
considering the ban on use of chrysotile asbestos in India to protect the
workers and the general population against primary and secondary exposure to
Chrysotile form of Asbestos." It has noted that "Asbestosis is yet
another occupational disease of the Lungs which is on an increase under similar
circumstances warranting concerted efforts of all stake holders to evolve
strategies to curb this menace". A concept paper by Union Ministry of
Labour revealed this at the two-day 5th India-EU Joint Seminar on “Occupational
Safety and Health” on 19th and 20th September, 2011. (Reference:
http://www.labour.nic.in/lc/Background%20note.pdf)
We submit that the Annual
Report of NHRC 2003-2004 refers to a Report entitled “Asbestos – Health and
Environment – an in-depth Study “submitted by the Institute of Public Health
Engineers, India. The study underlines that safe and controlled use of asbestos
is not possible.
We
submit that taking lessons from the industrial disaster of Bhopal, asbestos
industry should ne made to pay heed to the way asbestos companies have gone
bankrupt in the Western countries. They should be persuaded to join hands and
create a compensation fund for victims. Dow Chemicals Company which refuses to
own the liability for Bhopal disaster caused by Union Carbide Corporation (UCC)
in India has owned the UCC’s asbestos related liabilities and announced a
compensation fund of 2.2 billion dollars for the victims. In Europe, tycoons
and ministers are facing criminal charges and imprisonment for their act of
knowing subjecting unsuspecting people to killer fibers of asbestos. The future
is no different for Indian culprits.
We
submit that while India has technically banned mining of asbestos due
deleterious impact on health, it is quite ironical that Union Government allows
import of white chrysotile asbestos from countries like Russia, Brazil,
Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan and others. Government should not allow itself to be
misled by asbestos producers like Russia in this regard now that Canada has
rightly stopped mining of white chrysotile asbestos almost like India due its
“deleterious” impact on health.
We wish to draw your attention towards the verdict
of five judges of Japan’s Supreme Court of February 17, 2015 that has upheld a
ruling that found asbestos used at a plant of Kubota Corporation caused fatal
mesothelioma in a man who lived near the plant and ordered the company to pay
¥31.9 million in damages to his relatives. The petitioners were relatives of
Kojiro Yamauchi, who died at age 80 after working for two decades about 200
meters from the Kubota plant in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture. His relatives and
those of Ayako Yasui, who died at age 85 having lived about 1 km from the
plant, sought damages from both Kubota and the government. In October, 2014 the
Supreme Court ruled that the government was responsible for failing to protect
workers from exposure at asbestos factories in Sennan, Osaka Prefecture. Reference:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/02/19/national/crime-legal/top-court-upholds-kubotas-liability-in-asbestos-death-case/#.VO3inSw8RkQ
It is noteworthy that Japan has banned asbestos of
all kinds including white chrysotile asbestos.
We also wish to draw your attention towards the fact
that our neighbor Nepal has become the first country in South Asia which going
in the direction of banning asbestos
We submit that in January 1995, while passing the
judgment for the asbestos case file by the Consumer Education & Research
Centre (CERC) (case details: http://indiankanoon.org/doc/1657323/),
Hon’ble Supreme Court of India directed all asbestos factories to keep the
health records of their workers for 40 years and/or 15 years after their
retirement.
We submit that the second significant direction was
the GoI and the state governments have to mend their rules and regulation as
per the ILO resolution (International Labour Organisation). The ILO says
eliminate asbestos of all kinds for elimination of asbestos related-diseases.
Controlled use is not possible. It has not been possible for all the countries
which have banned it and this is impossible in India too.
We submit that Navy officials have rightly objected
to presence of asbestos in aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov which was inducted
into the Indian Navy as INS Vikramaditya after asbestos decontamination.
We submit that Union of India’s Budget 2011-12 had
made reference to asbestos related diseases by including it under the Rashtriya
Swasthya Bima Yojana to cover ‘unorganized sector workers in hazardous mining
and associated industries like asbestos etc”. During Emergency, the ruling
party and its acolytes had proposed to put opposition leaders in jails which
had asbestos roofs.
We submit that there are fibre substitutes that have
been evaluated by WHO are listed in the Summary Consensus Report of WHO
Workshop on Mechanisms of Fibre Carcinogenesis and Assessment of Chrysotile
Asbestos Substitutes.
We submit that sooner or later, the asbestos
industry will go bankrupt because they will have to pay huge amount of money in
compensation. For every injury in the law there is a remedy. The present and
the future generation will make sure they get remedy.
We submit that the rate of consumption of growth
which they are enjoying today does not mean it will continue. In western
countries, the rate picked at one time and today it is zero. This is the peak
of Asbestos industry in India and now, the downfall will start.
We submit that the industry must be persuaded to
phase out in two phases. In the first phase the goal is to eliminate use of
chrysotile asbestos and the number of exposed workers and consumers in the
country. In the second phase, the goal is to create incentives for the use of
safer materials, ensure, create a registry of asbestos laden buildings and
victims of asbestos-related diseases and ensure decontamination of the
former and compensation for the latter. There is an immediate need to conduct
an audit of the current status of the victims of asbestos related diseases from
the government hospital records in the country and make it mandatory for
medical colleges to provide training for doctors so that they can diagnose
diseases caused by occupational, non-occupational and environmental exposures
to killer fibers and substances.
We
submit that Union Environment Ministry’s Vision Statement reads: “Alternatives
to asbestos may be used to the extent possible and use of asbestos may be
phased out”.
We
submit that meanwhile, while an Advisory Committee of Union Ministry of Labour
has been set up to implement Hon’ble Supreme Court order issued 15 years ago on
January 27, 1995 and repeated on January 23, 2012. Although more than 1 year
and four months have passed but the Advisory Committee headed by Joint
Secretary, Union Ministry of Labour is yet to submit its report to incorporate
specific directions of the Court with regard to fresh ILO’s Resolution of June
14, 2006 introducing a ban on all mining, manufacture, recycling and use of all
forms of asbestos.
We
submit that even early industry-funded studies showed a causal relationship
between asbestos exposure and cancer. Had this been made known to the public it
could have prevented countless deaths but the asbestos industry made the
conscious decision to protect their profits instead and choose to keep this
information hidden from the public. India’s asbestos industry is following the
same path. As a consequence,
although millions of Indian lives are being lost and millions are being exposed
to the killer fibers of white chrysotile asbestos, no government agency or
company is being held liable due to political patronage.
While
on a visit to New Delhi, Dr Alec Farquhar, as the Managing Director,
Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, Canada said, “We now have
around 500 asbestos cancer cases every year in Ontario from a population of 13
million. If you (India) continue on your current path, you will multiply our
death count by 100 times. That would be 50, 000 Indian workers dying every year
from asbestos. In Ontario, we learned that safe use of asbestos is impossible.
I urge you from the bottom of my heart, please do not make the same mistake as
we made in Canada. Stop using asbestos and use a safe alternative.” It is clear
that lack of documentation and lack of environmental and occupational health
infrastructure does not mean lack of victims of asbestos related diseases.
We submit that the year 2011 is remembered in Bihar
for a successful villagers’ struggle against a asbestos plant proposed by
Kolkata based company Balmukund Cement & Roofing Ltd in Chainpur-Bishunpur,
Marwan Block, Muzaffarpur district, Bihar that led to the winding up of the
plant as per a communication from the Chairman, Bihar State Human Rights
Commission.
We submit that following bitter resistance against the
proposal of West Bengal based Utkal Asbestos Limited (UAL) at Chaksultan
Ramppur Rajdhari near Panapur in Kanhauli Dhanraj Panchayat of in Goraul block in Vaishali, Bihar,
Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) cancelled the No Objection
Certificate given to the UAL company. It had approval for 2.5 lakh ton per
annum capacity. The peoples struggle led to stoppage of proposed asbestos based
plant of 1.25 lak tons per annum (TPA) capacity in Pandaul, Sagarpur, Hati
tehsil in Madhubani, Bihar. The proposal of 2.5 lakh TPA capacity plant by
Hyderabad Industries Ltd in Kumar Bagh, Bettiah, West Champaran, Bihar has also
been stopped. The company has constructed a boundary wall amidst rich
agricultural field but faces court cases from villagers.
It is sad that a killer
fiber like asbestos which is banned in some 60 countries is being used in West
Bengal to manufacture asbestos cement sheets disregarding the fatal health
impact for present and future generations. Such plants and products should be
stopped to save residents from incurable lung cancer like diseases.
We submit that asbestos
death toll has surpassed traffic fatalities in Australia. In US, every year 10,
000 people are dying because of asbestos related disease. There is an epidemic
of asbestos diseases in Europe. In India, a silent Bhopal disaster is happening
every year. The rate of consumption of asbestos in India is rising at an
alarming rate due to budgetary support. Nearly all of India's asbestos is mixed
with cement to form roofing sheets. Bolstered by asbestos import tariffs that
have been reduced from 78% in the mid-1990s to 15% by 2004, the country's
asbestos-cement industry is increasing by roughly 10% every year.
We submit that some
typical asbestos-based materials include sound insulation infill, thermal
insulation lagging, tape, rope, felts, blankets, mattresses, asbestos boards,
gaskets and washers, drive belts/ conveyor belts, roofing sheets and slates,
drain and flue pipes, rainwater goods, fascia boards, bath panels, ceiling
tiles, toilet seats, cisterns, bitumen damp proof course, lining to walls, lab
bench tops, extraction hoods and fume cupboards, brakes and clutches, cooling
tower elements and others.
We submit that the
health consequences are already apparent, but the scale of the problem is not
clear because there is no documentation of disease caused by environmental and
occupational factors. “The Government of India has a very poor, almost
non-existent, system to record death and disease”, explains Arthur Frank from
Drexel University, Philadelphia , PA , USA who is a regular visitor to India.
Besides, cancer is not a notifiable disease. Prof. Frank cited a hospital in
Mumbai which sees a dozen cases of mesothelioma every year. Studies have shown
high rates of asbestosis among workers in the industry, including in those
whose exposure to the material has spanned less than 5 years. There has been no
real assessment of [asbestos-related disease] to the point that you can get
accurate figures.
We submit that the
verdict even by the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Appellate Body (AB)
validated the rights of Member States to prohibit the import and use of goods
which contain carcinogenic substances such as chrysotile asbestos (white
asbestos) is noteworthy. On March 12, 2001 the WTO's Appellate Body (AB) issued
its ruling in the case of Canada vs. the European Communities Measures
Affecting Asbestos and Asbestos-Containing Products. It noted that safe and
controlled use of chrysotile asbestos is impossible.
We submit that India is
the largest importer of asbestos, according to the UN Commodity Trade
Statistics Database. Most of it goes into making corrugated roofing sheets as
building material.
In our country, it has
been estimated by a Canadian jurist that approximately 50, 000 people die every
year due to asbestos related cancer. But so far Government of India and state
governments has failed to take a pro-people’s health position and a scientific
stand on the import of chrysotile asbestos whose mining is technically banned
in India. It is a matter of fact that health is a state subject.
In such a context, we appeal
to you to take note of:
·
Hon’ble Calcutta High Court’s order;
·
Resolutions of WHO and ILO (2005 and
2006 seeking elimination of future use of asbestos including chrysotile
asbestos worldwide;
·
Need to announce the compensation
package for present and future victims of asbestos diseases as it has done in
the case of Silicosis and make the asbestos companies criminally liable for
knowingly exposing citizens and consumers of asbestos products;
·
The fact that every international health
agency of repute including the World Health Organization, the International
Labor Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health, and the American Cancer Society agree there is no safe level of
asbestos exposure. Most recently, the International Agency for Research on
Cancer (IARC) reconfirmed that all commercial asbestos fibers - including
chrysotile, the most commercially used form of asbestos - cause lung cancer and
mesothelioma. In addition, IARC newly confirmed that there is sufficient
evidence that asbestos causes ovarian cancer and reconfirmed asbestos causes
laryngeal cancer;
·
The World Health Organisation estimates
that asbestos already claims 107,000 lives a year. Even that conservative
estimate means every five minutes around the clock a person dies of asbestos
related disease. The ongoing use of the asbestos fibre kills at least 300
people every day;
·
World Bank's Asbestos Good Practice
Guidelines. These Guidelines, as well as its earlier Environmental, Health
& Safety General Guidelines, require that the use of asbestos must be
avoided in new construction in projects funded by the World Bank around the
world. The Guidelines also provide information on available safer alternatives
to asbestos;
·
Human biology is same everywhere if the
asbestos is deemed hazardous in the developed countries; it must be deemed so
in West Bengal too;
In view of the
incontrovertible adverse health effects asbestos based plants and products
should be phased out to protect the lives of present and future generations.
We take this
opportunity to draw your immediate attention towards the fact that asbestos
related diseases are also incurable despite this environmental clearances are
still being given by the central environment ministry but health being a state
subject, your government can act to safeguard the life of present and future
generations by stopping it.
All the groups working
on human rights, labour rights, health rights and environmental justice will
appreciate if you can intervene urgently in the matter of chrysotile asbestos
as Kerala government acted in the case of Endosufan. Health is a state subject.
In such a backdrop, it
is germane to ask Government of West Bengal to stop manufacturing, procurement
and use of all forms of asbestos including white asbestos.
In view of the above,
it is your solemn duty to protect the residents of West Bengal from the
exposure of fibers of chrysotile asbestos.
We will be happy to
share reference documents and more information in this regard.
Thanking you in
anticipation
Yours
Faithfully
Dr
Gopal Krishna
Editor,
ToxicsWatch
Email:
1715krishna@gmail.com
Post a Comment