Even as the Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC) under the Ministry of Commerce continues to trade in white asbestos and its products, asbestos is now a totally banned substance throughout all twenty-five-member countries of the European Union (EU). From 1st January, 2005 after a five-year phase-out period ended, which was permitted under European Commission Directive 1999/77/EC this EU asbestos ban marks a landmark in the global campaign to ban asbestos.

This is happening in a situation where in India Union Ministry of Health and Ministry of Environment and Forests have different views on whether white asbestos (chrysotile) causes cancer or not. The former has informed the parliament that it’s a carcinogen and the latter has informed the parliament that it’s a non-carcinogen.

While World Trade Organization (WTO), Europe and countries like Japan and Australia has termed white asbestos as cancer causing, Namo Narain Meena misinformed the Lok Sabha on 20th December, 2004 repeating his reply of 19th July, 2004 saying, “The Government has received representations from few Non-Governmental Organizations for a total ban on white asbestos in the country. However, as no scientific study establishing that the use of white asbestos causing lung cancer is available, it is not considered desirable to ban the use of white asbestos”. This is despite the fact that the Union Ministry of Health informed the parliament that exposure to any type of asbestos can lead to the development of asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.

"Experimental as well as epidemiological studies proved asbestos as carcinogen as well as co-carcinogen. Risk assessment and control of occupational exposure are very poor in developing countries like India," says Dr Qamar Rehman, Toxicologist, Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow.

Oblivious of the fact that "poison" does not become "non-poisonous" as a result of advertising and public relations campaigns, the Canadian government has announced its continuing support for safe and responsible use of white asbestos. India mainly exports asbestos from Canada. Indian Government is supporting Canadian interest to the detriment of Indian workers and citizens, says Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI).

In India, grant of fresh mining leases and renewal of existing mining leases for asbestos are presently banned in India on health grounds. The lease of most of the pre-existing mines would expire in February 2005 and they would most likely be not renewed further. Also blue and brown asbestos and asbestos waste is banned in the country, its only the white asbestos which remains to be banned.

The European directive states: "no threshold level of exposure has yet been identified below which chrysotile asbestos does not pose carcinogenic risks." Highlighting the risks from intermittent exposure, it maintains: "an effective way of protecting human health is to prohibit the use of chrysotile asbestos fibres and products containing them." WTO and all concerned UN agencies have corroborated this but Indian Government is pretending to be deaf and blind to the incontrovertible evidence against the white asbestos.

Toxics Link, an environmental organization asks, if asbestos is too hazardous for Europeans, Australians and Japanese how can it be non-hazardous for Indians. Is the concern of the countries, which have banned asbestos not relevant to India? It would be inhuman if such a hazardous substance is allowed to be used as housing material for relief during crisis situations like Tsunami.

"All kinds of asbestos are cancer causing including white asbestos and there is no cure for diseases caused due to asbestos exposure. The diseases caused by it may occur years after a person has stopped working in a asbestos factory or mine and it is difficult to track these workers and do cohort studies. We do not have such infrastructure in the country. Also a person with these debilitating diseases, won't be working, they will be either in hospital or would have died", says Dr S K Dave, director, National Institute of Miners Health, Nagpur.

"When the world is preparing and planning to get rid of all forms of asbestos, it makes us look stupid in India to be still importing it, we should devote our scarce resources to prevent the impending disaster by phasing it out as soon as we can," says Dr T K Joshi, director, Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital, New Delhi.

Besides the civil society groups, the call for an immediate ban on continuing use of white asbestos has received endorsement from likes of Dr M K Pandhee of Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) H Mahadevan of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) & Vice-president, National Safety Council and Arun Daur of Hindustan Mazdoor Sangathan (HMS) and several other trade unions.

It is possible to eliminate the use of asbestos by redesigning the job or product, or by using another, safer material. Cellulose fibre, PVA fibre, clay, stone tiles and steel are all substitutes for asbestos. Awaiting government's prompt action, BANI appeals to the citizens to boycott all asbestos containing products in the context of a global asbestos epidemic.