Executive Summary

Minerals are valuable natural resources being finite and non-renewable. They constitute the vital raw materials for many basic industries and are a major resource for development. The history of mineral extraction in India dates back to the days of the Harappan civilization. The wide availability of the minerals in the form of abundant rich reserves made it very conducive for the growth and development of the mining sector in India. The country is endowed with huge resources of many metallic and non-metallic minerals. Mining sector is an important segment of the Indian economy. Since independence, there has been a pronounced growth in the mineral production both in terms of quantity and value. India produces as many as 87 minerals, which includes 4 fuel, 10 metallic, 47 non-metallic, 3 atomic and 23 minor minerals (including building and other materials). Mining has been an important contributor to the economy and a major source of natural resource to support other industries. Mining provides with the materials like Aluminium, Zinc, Copper, Lead, Gold. These materials are used extensively for various industrial purposes. Thus making mining for these materials even more essential for the other industries to survive. However, though these materials have a higher commercial value they may also have an impact on the health of the people exposed to such material and to the environment at large. One such material is asbestos that has a high demand for industrial purpose at the same time research have suggested some adverse effects it could have It is for the government to evaluate and weigh the costs and the benefits to decide the fate of industries or that of the community and environment.

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Introduction

Asbestos What is it all about? Asbestos is a naturally occurring, fibrous silicate mineral. Once mined the asbestos rock mineral is crushed producing fibres of different lengths and characteristics.

It is not possible to identify the type of asbestos by the colour as it is often incorporated with other materials. To be certain that a material contains asbestos it should be analyzed in a laboratory.

Types of Asbestos: Asbestos is a group of six fibrous minerals that occur naturally in metamorphic deposits located around the world. Of the hydrous magnesium silicate variety, the six types include tremolite asbestos, actinolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos, chrysotile asbestos, amosite asbestos and crocidolite asbestos. Asbestos is a chemically inert mineral that is fire resistant and does not conduct heat or electricity (making it a commonly used insulator), is insoluble and is without odor. Asbestos' combination of properties made it a valuable resource, regularly used in buildings, automobiles, shipyards and a variety of household products.

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Types of Asbestos:
1. Tremolite Asbestos Tremolite Tremolite asbestos was not often used industrially or commercially; though it could be found (uncommonly) in products such as certain talcum powders in limited amounts.

2. Actinolite Asbestos Actinolite Actinolite asbestos was not often used industrially or commercially. Airborne actinolite fibers are easily inhaled and severely damaging to the lungs.

3. Anthophyllite Asbestos Anthophyllite Like tremolite and actinolite, anthophyllite was not often used industrially or commercially; though it could occasionally be found in certain vermiculites.

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4. Chrysotile Asbestos Chrysotile Also called white asbestos, chrysotile asbestos is unique in that it has a serpentine fiber-formation (curled fibers) compared to the amphibole fiber-formation (straight, needle-like fibers) of the other five asbestos types. Chrysotile asbestos is less friable (lesslikely to be inhaled) than other types of asbestos. Chrysotile asbestos is less likely to be inhaled and therefore viewed by many to be the safest of the asbestos types.

5.

Amosite Asbestos Amosite Also called Grunerite or brown asbestos, amosite asbestos is an amphibole originating in Africa. Amosite was used industrially for various purposes such as cement sheet and pipe insulation.

6. Crocidolite Asbestos Crocidolite Also called blue asbestos, crocidolite asbestos is an amphibole mineral that can be found in Africa and Australia. On the opposite end of the spectrum than chrysotile asbestos, crocidolite is viewed to be the most dangerous type of asbestos.

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Health Hazards related to use of Asbestos There are four specific diseases that have been directly linked to asbestos exposure: Pleural Plaque & Thickening Asbestosis Lung Cancer Mesothelioma

Pleural Plaque/Thickening Pleural plaque/thickening involves scarring of the lining of the lung indicating that an individual has had lung damage sufficient to be at risk for more serious complications. This condition is not cancerous. However, plaque or thickening impairs lung function, restricting breathing capacity. Usually there are bilateral asbestos markers in the lungs that come from exposure. This is significant in that it is an indication this person is at a greater risk than the general population of developing lung cancer or a cancer known as Mesothelioma. Asbestosis Asbestosis is a chronic non-malignant scarring and fibrous hardening of the lungs, which is caused by heavy exposure to asbestos fibers over a period of many years. This scarring is called fibrosis, and the more asbestos fibers inhaled, the worse the scarring or fibrosis tends to become. However, the risk of asbestosis for those who do not work with asbestos is minimal. The symptoms of asbestosis are shortness of breath, coughing and a dry crackling sound while inhaling. In advanced states, asbestosis may cause cardiac failure. Asbestosis is a slowly progressive disease with a latency period of 15 to 30 years or more. When asbestos fibers lodge in the lungs (they often have hook like endings) the body sends anti-bodies to attack and kill the invading fibers. Because the fibers are virtually indestructible the anti-bodies die all around the fiber as their attack fails forming the scarring discussed above.

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Lung Cancer Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer, found in individuals who have sustained prolonged exposure to asbestos. Lung cancer develops through the surrounding tissue, invading and often obstructing air passages. The combination of smoking and asbestos is particularly dangerous as the two substances interact to greatly increase the risk of lung cancer. It can take 20 to 30 years or more to develop lung cancer after being exposed to large amounts of asbestos over a period of many years, because the inhaled asbestos is trapped in the lungs and can never be removed. However, in some cases, it may take less exposure to asbestos to cause lung cancer that it takes to cause asbestosis. Mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the thin membranes lining the thoracic and abdominal cavities and surrounding organs, including the gastro-intestinal tract. Virtually all cases of Mesothelioma are linked with asbestos exposure and is life threatening. Symptoms of Mesothelioma are shortness of breath, pain in the lower back or side of the chest, coughing, and weight loss. Mesothelioma is the most menacing of the asbestos-related diseases. It can affect people many years after only small or short-term exposure to asbestos, as well as family members who have been around a worker's contaminated clothing. Mesothelioma is not caused by cigarette smoking.

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Risk Factors There were many work environments, or trades in which people came, or still may come in contact with asbestos. Some of them are as follows:
Sheet metal workers Pipe fitters Shipyards (all jobs) Asbestos plant workers Hotels Telephone (installation/repair) Boiler Makers Hospitals Railroad workers Laborers Glass factory workers Heating and Air Conditioning Automotive and other repair shops Custodian/Handyman Steamfitters Asbestos workers/Insulators/Laggers Steel Workers (plants and construction) Firefighters Chemical Plants Industrial Plants Plumbers Construction sites (all jobs) Military (Navy/Army tank units) Schools Longshoremen Power Plants Home Improvement (all jobs) Industrial Painter Oil Refinery Loading Docks Cement plant workers Metal lathers Boiler or Engine Rooms Electricians Merchant Marines Utility Workers/Power Companies Operational Engineers

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White asbestos, a health time bomb The Ministry of Mines and Minerals says it may lift the ban on asbestos mining. It is ignoring the views of exposure victims, informed recommendations of public sector medical experts, and mounting evidence of an asbestos disease epidemic emerging in developed countries. Unexamined in the media, workers in India work up to their knees in asbestos powder, breaking up asbestos cement roofs and pipes. Stories of the toll asbestos takes on people are yet to hit the headlines in India as been the case in US, Europe, Australia and Japan. Indian homes are often built of asbestos cement roofs, and people cut their own windows and doorways. Research is showing asbestos epidemics across the globe even in countries where it is currently banned, as the consequence of past exposure, with estimated deaths reaching 30 per day. The International Labour Organization said in January 2006 that asbestos is still the No.1 carcinogen in the world in its report titled "Asbestos: the iron grip of latency." It adds, the dumping of asbestos on developing countries will "prove to be a health time bomb in these countries in 20 to 30 years' time." Jukka Takala, Director of the ILO InFocus Programme SafeWork, issued the report. While white asbestos mining is currently banned in India, its import, export or use in manufacturing is permitted. But recently, the Ministry of Mines has indicated that it may lift the mining ban. The reality is that the country's most powerful parliamentarians bless the asbestos industry. On 1 January 2006, production began at an asbestos-cement factory in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, in the constituency of Sonia Gandhi. The factory is of Visaka Industries, one of India's largest asbestos groups. The company also has asbestos-cement factories in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Karnataka. The Chairman of Visaka Industries, G Vivekanand, is the son of the G Venkataswamy, Member of Parliament, Deputy Leader of the Indian Congress Parliamentary Party and a former Union Textile Minister.

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Visaka Industries has asbestos plants located even in Midnapore in West Bengal where CPI(M) is the ruling party for more than 25 years. Although Centre of Indian Trade Union and All India Trade Union Congress have called for ban on asbestos and have also written to the Prime Minister, the fact remains, that the CPI(M) has not gotten rid of it from their own backyard. There are some states, for instance Assam, UP, and Tamil Nadu, where asbestos factory units are run by the state governments. Pulivendala, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's constituency, has 14 mines. In September 2004, P Dayasankar, Director, A.P.'s State Mines and Geology Department was reported in the Business Standard to have predicted that the ban on mining may well be lifted. Taking the line that state and central health agencies were also in favour of lifting the ban, he said: "We have already represented the matter to the government of India for the appropriate decision. To my knowledge, the Centre is on the verge of taking a positive decision." It is not difficult to notice why the entire political establishment wears blinkers when it comes to acknowledging the fact that currently over 40 countries including Europe have banned all forms of asbestos including chrysotile (white asbestos) due to health hazards. With asbestos firms being owned by politicians or the state itself, the government seems to be following a classic ostrich policy. What else can explain the discredited claims of 'safe use' of asbestos by the industry and the virtually blasphemous statement to Parliament on 27 February 2006 by Namo Narain Meena, the Minister of State for Environment saying, "No complaints have so far been received regarding its carcinogenic content and its hazard to health and environment." There are sane voices in government too, but these have been exceptions. It is noteworthy that the former Union Health Minister in the NDA government Sushma Swaraj informed Parliament on 18 August 2003 that: "Studies by the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, have shown that long-term exposure to any type of asbestos can lead to the development of asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma."

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Asbestos Regulation Its an old story

Since 1984, environmental monitoring and health surveys have led to in-depth studies in asbestos based industries in India, highlighting an occupationally vulnerable worker population. It was noticed that the workers occupationally exposed to asbestos have a maximum impairment in their pulmonary function test. Besides the consumers, workers employed in the cement-asbestos factories also suffer from the exposure to asbestos. Its incubation period is long, it takes as long as 25 to 30 years for the fibers to make their presence felt in the human body but by then it is incurable. In the developed countries, insurance companies have stopped covering workers employed in asbestos factories and mines. It was in view of the deleterious effect of asbestos mining on the health of the workers, the central government ordered the state governments in 1986 not to grant any new mining lease for asbestos (including chrysotile variety) in the country. In June 1993, the central government stopped the renewal of existing mining leases of asbestos. The ban was imposed in phases in 1986 and 1993 but not on its use, manufacture, export and import, as noted earlier. But despite the ban on mining, illegal mines are operating in the states of Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Most asbestos-cement is using imported asbestos, some of it is being sourced from the illegal mining though that is a relatively small proportion. To meet industry use requirements, white asbestos was imported during the years 2002-03, 200304 and 2004-05 respectively to the tune of nearly 100,000 metric tons per year. In addition to cement, it is also used in brakes, clutch linings, and gaskets in motor cars, as well as insulation and fireproofing in buildings and warships. It is also used in electrical distribution systems, and domestic products such as ironing boards. Following a Supreme Court order on 14 October 2003 (Writ petition (civil) 657/1995), the Union Ministry of Labour constituted a Special Committee under Chairmanship of S K Saxena, Director General, Directorate of General Factory Advice Service and Labour on the issue of medical benefits and compensation to workers affected by handling of hazardous waste, toxic in nature. The Saxena Committee's report, submitted in May 2004, mentions lung cancer and mesothelioma caused by asbestos in all work involving exposure to the risk concerned.

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Government (Minstry of Mining) feels the need to lift the ban

The Union Ministry of Mines has proposed to lift the existing ban on mining of chrysotile asbestos. On 29 April 2005 the Minister of State for Coal and Mines, Dr Dasari Narayana Rao in a written reply in the Lok Sabha said that the study of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) "has recommended that the ban imposed on grant and renewal of mining leases and expansion of mining may be lifted." The study recommended that the mining ban may be lifted subject to control of pollution level in work environment of various operations and other remedial measures. But as an entity, the IBM is not independent of the Ministry; it functions under the Union Ministry of Mines and Minerals. On 10 March 2006, the Ministry of Mines and Minerals issued a statement saying, "IBM has been asked to work out necessary safeguards/measures in consultation with Central Pollution Control Board subject to which chrysotile asbestos mining can be permitted so as to ensure worker's safety." The manifest support the industry appears to enjoy from the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) seems illustrative of an unhealthy consensus, overall. In the meantime, research from leading Indian institutes continues to contradict the Ministry's push to lift the ban. In an August 2005 paper published in American Journal of Industrial Medicine, titled "Occupational Asbestos Exposure and Predictable Asbestos-related Diseases in India," Dr S K Dave, Senior Deputy Director, NIOH concludes, "Based on knowledge of past and current exposures to asbestos in industry, we can predict a future occurrence of clinical asbestos-related diseases-pleural changes, pulmonary fibrosis, bronchogenic carcinoma, and diffuse malignant mesothelioma." He wrote that these cases of asbestos related disease are expected to occur in asbestos exposed workers from mining, milling, and manufacturing as well as in those with secondary exposures to asbestos-containing materials, including construction and maintenance workers, users of asbestos-containing consumer products, and the occupants of asbestoscontaining buildings. Dr Dave's surveys of asbestos-exposed workers have revealed significant occupational exposures.

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The NIOH was established by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world presided over by the Union Health Minister. Findings of the National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad. Asbestos Cement industry: There are 18 asbestos cement factories located in different parts of the country. NIOH has carried out environmental epidemiological studies in four asbestos cement factories located in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Mumbai. The prevalence of asbestosis in these factories varied from 3% to 5%. The levels of asbestos fibres were found to be higher than the permissible levels of 2 fibres/millilitre in two of the factories.

Asbestos Textile industry: Making of asbestos yarn and ropes is done mostly in the unorganised sector of industries with very poor safety measures. The average levels of air borne asbestos fibres varied from 216 to 418 fibres/ml. The permissible level is 2 fibres/ml. The prevalence of asbestosis was 9%. This relatively low prevalence of asbestosis despite high environmental levels was attributed to high labour turn over. Cases of asbestosis were observed in workers having less than 10 years exposure in contrast to the reported average duration of over 20 years.

Asbestos Mining and milling: In India, the mining and milling of asbestos is done in Cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh) and Devgarh (Rajasthan). Environmental and epidemiological studies in mining and milling units were carried out in both the places. In asbestos mines at both locations, the air borne fibre levels were within permissible limits. The average fibre levels in milling units varied from 45 fibres/ml to 244 fibres/ml of air. The overall prevalence of asbestosis in mining and milling units was 3% and 21% respectively.

An in-depth study conducted by Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC), Lucknow in Beawer and Deovgarh Rajasthan observed higher fibre concentrations in the milling units. All the units belong to the unorganised sector where technology is poor and laws and regulations are simply not in force.
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The ITRC team observed prevalence of asbestosis in less than five years, which is very high and alarming. ITRC is a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), an autonomous body associated with the Union Ministry of Education. It is dedicated to provide health safeguards to industrial and agricultural workers through its rich knowledgebase, created painstakingly over the years. Dr Qamar Rahman, a senior scientist with ITRC and a visiting Professor at Rostock University, Germany says that on the basis of the report and recent studies conducted in the milling units, the ban on asbestos mining should not be lifted. She notes that mining and processing are the part of each other and conditions need to be improved at both the places simultaneously. "In the milling or grinding area fibre concentration is very high, workers do not use gloves, masks and protective clothing. They use primitive manual way for grinding," she says, alarmingly. The housekeeping in the units are also very bad, feels Dr Rahman. "At the moment unauthorised mining of asbestos is going on in Rajasthan and workers are heavily exposed. If the ban will be lifted conditions will further deteriorate. Keeping in view the above facts the ban on asbestos mining should not be lifted," said Dr Rahman in her comments to the central government on a report regarding lifting the ban on asbestos mining. But the Ministry of Mines chooses to ignore such suggestions in the same way as it has ignored the plight of victims of white asbestos mines in Roro Hills, Chaibasa, Jharkhand abandoned by Hyderabad Asbestos Cement Products Limited (now known as Hyderabad Industries Limited). And the Ministry of Environment says it has not received any complaint so far. The rationale to support the continued use of this killer fiber used in over 3,000 products is glaringly hollow. It continues to devastate workers and consumers, but the extent of the tragedy remains largely uncovered in India.

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Conclusion

It has been proved through various research and tests conducted by various national and international agencies the ill-effects of white Asbestos. However, the government still weighs the dependence of this material in various industry more than the serious and adverse effects it has on the community, people working with this material and on the environment at large. It is of our view that since 52 countries has banned either mining or import of asbestos they are still surviving. All the industries that are dependent on asbestos seem to still work smoothly and have found an effective alternative to this KILLER MINERAL. It is time that India focused on spending more on Research & Development to find effective alternatives to White Asbestos in a manner as the rest of the world than focusing on growth of industries and sectors at the cost of health of the people of this country.

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