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Asbestos ban 'used for gain'
12/07/2006 20:47 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Supporters of proposed legislation to ban white asbestos were accused of using a health issue for economic gain at the launch of a documentary on the subject in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
John Jerre from Turnall, a cement company in Zimbabwe which uses white asbestos, told Sapa large companies were using health to push forward the ban to "have the market to themselves".
The documentary investigates whether the proposed ban of the product by the South African government was a health or economic issue.
White asbestos has been banned in 39 other countries due to concerns about Asbestos Related Diseases (ARDs).
Banned
Blue and brown asbestos were banned in South Africa after being found to cause asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
However Zimbabwean mines and makers of asbestos products said they were safely using white asbestos without any repercussions.
Since South African building materials company, Everite, stopped making asbestos-cement building materials, imports from countries like Zimbabwe have grown to 15% of the market, mainly through informal channels.
Brian Gibson, from Everite, said this represented a potential loss of R75m in turnover for Everite's non-asbestos product Nutec.
For Zimbabwe, who exported most of their asbestos to South Africa, the bill could have devastating socio-economic consequences.
Not one case
The medical superintendent of Shabanie Mine in Zimbabwe Dr Gregory Chady Mataka has examined workers exposed to white asbestos for 25 to 40 years.
He said he has more than 70 000 medical records and has not seen one case of mesopheliama, an incurable painful condition associated with asbestos exposure.
Dr Davd Bernstein, a toxicology expert based in Switzerland explained in the documentary how bio-persistance tests have shown white asbestos to disappear from the lungs in a matter of days.
Blue and brown asbestos - of an entirely different mineral composition - remained in the lungs which resulted in disease and disability.
Bernstein said mining white asbestos was no more hazardous than mining other dust related minerals like gold and coal.
Emotional issue
Jerre told Sapa that Zimbabwe has never mined blue and brown asbestos, which caused a lot of disease in South Africa and was an emotional issue in the country.
He said this might explain why South Africa has instances of illness from asbestos while Zimbabwe has none.
Nick Vujovic from Everite said there were currently 158 people receiving payments amounting to more than R1.4m a year from a disability fund for ARD's.
However very few cases of asbestosis have been reported at Everite workplaces over the past five years.
"Certainly chrysotile (white) asbestos could be safely used under very strictly controlled conditions. The control is very, very difficult," said Gibson.
He argued that government owed them the ban after persuading the company to invest in new fibre forms in return for banning white asbestos.
Published for comment
Draft banning regulations have been published for comment and were being finalised by the department of environmental affairs and tourism.
Gibson hoped that the legislation would still be passed this year.
Managing director John Wallace admitted the major objection was on commercial grounds.
"We invested some R140m to develop asbestos free alternatives in response to government's request to get out of asbestos. It was frustrating to then face increased competition from imports," said Wallace.
He agreed that white asbestos was not as hazardous as the now banned cancer-causing blue and brown asbestos. However, he said South Africa did not have the resources to implement strict control measures.
Not all have warning labels
"They (imported asbestos products) do not all carry warning labels and unsuspecting customers are being exposed to unacceptable risks when they cut or sand these products."
While the various parties pitted against each other, struggled to resolve the heated debate over scientific evidence, safety regulations and economic effect, small business has also raised concerns about the ban.
"We are uncomfortable with Everite trying to force government to effect a ban that blocks black business from doing trade," said Musa Mahlangu of Golden Pond Trading.
He said small black businesses and entrepreneurs have not been given an alternative to asbestos and could not buy alternative products from Everite.
Jerre admitted that for Zimbabwe the debate was about economics, and that people should instead see how asbestos could be used to achieve development goals such as housing.
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