Asbestos Mesothelioma - Malignant Mesothelioma, Asbestos Lung Cancer
A Killer On The Loose - Asbestos Deaths Reach One Hundred Thousand Each Year
The International Federation of Building and Woodworkers (IFBWW) is set to formally launch its Global Ban Asbestos Campaign in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at a prestigious international forum, the Global Asbestos Congress, being held on the 17th to 20th of September.
The IFBWW is sending an International delegation of trade union activists from both developing and industrialized countries to this Congress to discuss the way forward to achieve a worldwide ban on the extraction, processing and all uses of asbestos. The IFBWW is taking a leading role in the Congress proceedings and, as well as the important contribution of their delegates from Latin America, Asia and Europe, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has delegated the IFBWW Health and Safety Director as their spokesperson.
"One hundred thousand people die each year due to their exposure to deadly asbestos dust," says the IFBWW's Global Health and Safety Director, "that's a shocking figure... Behind the statistics there are terrible experiences for all those families who have seen the devastating effects of asbestos related lung diseases like asbestos and mesothelioma. Perhaps the most tragic aspect is that these deaths could be prevented, and that's why we're pushing harder than ever to put an end to this."
"We say to the industry that the game is up, the health hazards of asbestos are too well known despite all the industry propaganda to the contrary. In the fist century AD, Pliny the Elder noted that slaves working in the asbestos mines died young of lung diseases. Here we are in the new millennium, we have all the scientific evidence we need to demonstrate that asbestos kills. Today's workers are not slaves, they have information, they have rights to a safe and healthy working environment and they are not prepared to lay down their lives to boost company profits.
"The IFBWW believes that the asbestos industry should now face the fact that the use of asbestos can no longer be defended, it is not a question of if it will be banned, but when. The industry should therefore stop their delaying tactics and instead devote their immense resources to a thoroughgoing process of reconversion. The trade unions have been at the forefront of the successful campaign to ban asbestos in the European Union. As a result, companies there are rapidly changing their production from asbestos to alternative materials, such as cellulose or plastic resins. IFBWW affiliates are participating in this process of technological development to guarantee the health of their members and to ensure that there is a just transition which protects jobs and wages.
"What must be avoided, however, is the transfer of risks to those developing countries where legislation and information is not so very advanced. IFBWW policy, adopted at Congress in 1989, highlights precisely this point, and that is why we continue working for a global ban on all uses of all types of asbestos. We are aware, however, that banning the use of asbestos tomorrow will not make it disappear from the face of the planet. There are schools, hospitals, libraries, offices and homes all over the world that were built using asbestos containing materials. We represent workers in trades that are exposed to that asbestos in maintenance and in demolition work particularly, as well as in asbestos removal work. That is why we are also campaigning for the ratification of ILO Convention 162 on safety in work with asbestos, and the adoption of good Codes of Practice to protect workers from exposure to in situ asbestos."
For further information, please contact Fiona Murie, IFBWW health and safety director (fiona.murie@ifbww.org)
The IFBWW represents over 11 million workers organized in 280 trade unions in 124 countries
IFBWW: President-Roel de Vries; General Secretary-Ulf Asp; P.O.Box 1897, CH-1227 Carouge / GE (Switzerland); tel: (+41-22) 827 37 77; fax: (+41-22) 827 37 70; E-mail: info@ifbww.org
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