EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in a recent statement that "workers in South Asia are being exploited and their lives put at risk working in deplorable conditions, while coastal areas are being polluted and ecosystems threatened."

Commissioner Dimas was talking about the 200 to 600 large merchant ships that are taken apart each year; most have been removed from service in Europe but end up being broken on beaches in South Asia.

In India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, the demolition of these ships provides thousands of jobs. However, health and safety conditions are poor and labourers work on vessels that contain asbestos and other hazardous materials.

In fact, in 2006, France was forced to recall the Clemenceau, a decommissioned battleship, from Indian yards. The ship contained an estimated 270 tonnes of asbestos and other toxic waste, yet the French only recalled the vessel after widespread protests from environmental groups.

Through their Executive Commission, the EU has proposed the following measures should be taken:

* Technical assistance and support to developing countries for safety training and basic infrastructure for environmental and health protection.

* Enforcement of waste shipment rules such as more checks at European ports; establishing a list of ships ready for scrapping.

* Making warships and other government vessels subject to EU rules for clean dismantling if not covered by the convention.

Too little too late? Maybe, but better action now than not at all. It never ceases to amaze me that, here in the West, we seem to think its okay to expect the Asian sub-continent and other poor countries to clear up after us.

Reuters

James Hardie says its underlying earnings for the September quarter have again been affected by the weakness in the US housing market.

Net operating profit came in at just over $36 million, down by a quarter compared to a year ago.

I was about to write an ironic, 'oh dear, what a shame,' then I went on to read:

Bottom line profit for the six months to September was almost $155 million, nearly triple last year's earnings for the same period. Apparently the company's earnings were boosted by the lower Australian dollar which had a favorable impact on the company's asbestos compensation payments.

Once again, 'oh dear, what a shame,' but this time with no irony at all.

ABC

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is facing a tough time as workers complain they get ill when working at headquarters.

In response, the agency examined the building for Radon and Mercury, which they expected to find. However, when they moved on to assess the environment for the presence of asbestos, the latest reports they could find dated from 2001 - there has not been an asbestos inspection at the Illinois EPA headquarters for seven years.

And it's not only radon, mercury, and asbestos that are present in the EPA building, there are also underground storage tanks containing benzene.

It seems the Illinois EPA are so busy protecting the environment of others that they have failed to protect the environment of their own employees. Employees have reported respiratory problems, including mesothelioma.

Wired PR News

I wrote yesterday about the concerns in Vermont that roads and driveways may contain asbestos waste from old mines. Yesterday Vermont Public Radio featured an interview with a Lowell resident.

Here's the full transcript.

Last week the state of Vermont released a report that showed significantly higher death rates from asbestos-related diseases in the towns surrounding a now-closed mine in Lowell and Eden.

They go on to say that asbestos waste from the mine may have been used in the construction of local roads. Linda Elliott, of the Department of Environmental Conservation, says officials are also investigating the communities in this area to find out if the asbestos tailings were used as fill in for driveways or other projects.

Elliott seems eager to reassure the public that the waste rock contains only a small amount of asbestos, but says the state needs to find out more.

Burlington Free Press

From British Newspaper, the Daily Mail, comes the following report:

We talked about asbestos-like nanoparticles on this blog many months ago but what is worrying about the Daily Mail report is the information that some firms are not declaring the use of nanoparticles, particularly in beauty products and suncreams.

Did you know that nanoparticles were used in such commodities? I certainly didn't. As far as I was aware, the materials to worry about were those used in the handles of things like tennis rackets. However, the carbon nanoparticles that are said to exhibit asbestos-like properties can be found in the aforementioned beauty products and suncreams, as well as clothing and car tires.

In Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, situated in North East England, a total of 10,000 snowdrops, have been planted on both sides of the River Tyne as a lasting reminder of all those who have succumbed to mesothelioma.

The North East of England was an industrial heartland and home of British shipbuilding in the early twentieth century. As we now know, those who were involved in shipbuilding, boiler making, and who worked in shipyards at that time are among those people at the greatest of asbestos related disease.

The Snowdrop Fund was launched in February this year to allow families across the UK to establish a tribute charity as a lasting legacy for vital research into mesothelioma.

Shields Gazette

The state of Vermont is warning people to stay away from an abandoned asbestos mine in Eden and Lowell because of the health threat posed by asbestos.

Scientists studied health records and death certificates from towns within 10 miles of the mine. They say they found a statistically significant increase in cases of lung cancer and asbestosis. (Why are they surprised by this?)

The study found the odds of dying from asbestosis are more than 12 times as high among people living close to the mine compared to people living further away. The lung cancer risk is also higher.

Health Commissioner Wendy Davis says people should stay away.

Burlington Free Press

Three respected medical journals accuse the Canadian government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, of suppressing a Health Canada report on the health dangers posed by asbestos. It is well known that Canada exports the majority of its mined Chrysotile asbestos to developing countries.

* The Canadian Medical Association Journal calls for a ban on the exports, which it describes as a "death-dealing charade"

* The US Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine says Canada's position that asbestos can be safely exported to developing countries "should be truly embarrassing to the Canadian government and people"

* The British journal Annals of Occupational Hygiene warned that the Health Canada report would be suppressed and not available for last week's meeting of the Rotterdam Convention.

Dr Trevor Ogden, a British occupational health expert who was chairperson of the asbestos expert committee, said Health Canada's statement that it was still reviewing the report "is so obviously untrue as to be insulting. The government clearly has a very low regard for the intelligence of the public."

For such a reputedly 'clean living' country, Canada does not give a very good account of itself in its dealings with asbestos.

Montreal Gazette

In a routine probably acted out in many town halls, in many towns, across many states, every week First Selectman Bill Black walked around the town hall, scissors in hand, looking for loose threads and snags, which he cut from the carpet. The carpet with a ten year lifespan had been in place for 25 years and was showing signs of its age; it was decided that it was time to find the necessary funds to replace it.

The problem was that the town hall was built back in 1947, when asbestos was in common use. During some building works in 1984, asbestos was noted as being contained in the mastic, but there were no asbestos removal requirements. The problematic mastic was covered with an asbestos free layer of mastic, which in turn was covered with the new carpet.

But last year, as that 25-year-old carpet was being removed, the carpet contractor found the asbestos and the current rules meant that it had to be removed. Funds were not available and so the carpet was left in place and the renovation project was halted.

During the 'downtime' the selectmen sought guidance from the OHSA - and were ordered to have the asbestos removed by November 14 this year and, proving that it never rains but it pours, just a few days after selectmen got the letter, a town hall employee tripped and fell when her heel got caught in a portion of worn carpet. This meant that the carpet had to be removed immediately - thus exposing the asbestos and making the whole project even more urgent.

Thus, the simple replacement of a worn carpet cost $22,500.

Regional Standard

Expressing concern over issues relating to the continued trade in chrysotile asbestos, Secretary of the European Trade Union Convention (ETUC), Walter Cerfeda said:

ETUC

Don McCarty, Northeast District manager for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, has revealed that during a routine check by the EPA at a site in Florida, only one third of the asbestos workers carried authentic certification.

Out of the 89 workers on the site, one third had authentic certification, one third had bogus certificates or bogus Social Security numbers, and the final third had certificates issued to people who were no longer alive.

Apparently, it is not unknown for fake certificates to be made for illegal aliens and some workers have multiple fake certificates from different states.

McCarty also reminded his audience that there are some 3,500 building products on the US market that still contain asbestos.

To ensure that your contractor has received the correct asbestos training, contact your local EPA office

Times Herald.

The ASDR has issued a report detailing the three groups of Libby, Montana, residents at highest risk of health damage from proximity to amphibole asbestos mined in the region between the 1920's and the 1990's. The report also identifies 78 other sites that received Libby vermiculite. All but one of the sites are former vermiculite exfoliation facilities located in 36 states.

The three groups at greatest risk for amphibole asbestos exposure are:

* Persons who worked in exfoliation facilities at some time from the 1920s to the early 1990s.

* Persons who lived in the same households with these workers and who were exposed through asbestos?laden dust carried home on workers' clothing.

* Members of the community - particularly children - who had frequent, direct contact with vermiculite and waste rock (a by-product of exfoliation) from these facilities.

The report particularly stressed the fact that most people who live or work around these sites today are not being exposed to asbestos from the Libby mine. The goal of report publication is to inform the public and reach out to workers and families who may have been exposed and have not yet sought out necessary medical screening.

ASDR

I'm astonished and saddened to report that Chrysotile asbestos is not to be added to the world's list of dangerous substances, due to lack of consensus at the Rotterdam Convention meeting in Rome

What is even more worrying is the fact that the lobby against the addition of Chrysotile to the list was led by India, Pakistan and Vietnam, where the fiber has widespread use. These countries are the main importers of Canadian asbestos.

The problem with the Rotterdam Convention, as I see it, is that it does not ban trade in listed substances; it simply requires countries to give prior informed consent that they are aware they are buying harmful materials before they can be shipped.

Globe and Mail

I had to post the following quote from the Times of India, which I came across immediately following my post about Canada and the Rotterdam Convention:

In 2007, Canada exported US $77 million worth of asbestos ? almost 95 per cent of the chrysotile asbestos it mined. 43 per cent was shipped to India.