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Sri Lanka Government to Stop Asbestos Importation and Manufacturing

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Blue asbestos has been banned on the island of Sri Lanka since 1987, but a decision by the Sri Lanka cabinet has imposed controls on all asbestos. Importation and use will end on January 1, 2018 and manufacturing of asbestos-related products will be prohibited by 2024.

This ruling was enacted to protect the health of citizens and reduce the impact asbestos has on the environment. The World Health Organization (WHO) identified all types of asbestos as carcinogens that can cause lung cancer, cancer of the larynx and ovary, as well as the deadly disease, mesothelioma. These diseases are created when the tiny asbestos fibers are inhaled. This fiber-intense ‘dust’ occurs in the manufacture of products such as pipes, cement, and the brake-pads of vehicles. The manufacture of roofing sheets accounts for about 80 per cent of asbestos imported into Sri Lanka.

In addition to inhalation during the manufacturing process, products made from the mineral can release fibers into homes or businesses if the material is disturbed through remodeling, demolition, or in a natural disaster.

The government of Sri Lanka should be commended for controlling this lethal mineral through these bans. Even with this significant step, however, mesothelioma often occurs 20 to 50 years after exposure. This means the deadly affects of asbestos will continue for many decades into the future.

Asbestos Cleanup Not a Priority

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With scientists agreeing on the deadly role of asbestos inhalation in all its forms, why would an employer continue to expose employees to this potential hazard? There are no good reasons. One of the first actions upon creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) in 1970, was a set of standards for employee protection from asbestos exposure. These standards – rules – have changed through the years as more knowledge was acquired on the “safe” exposure levels to this mineral. Yet, hundreds, if not thousands, of employers willfully choose to ignore the OSHA rules – even after citations. Paying the penalties to OSHA can just be the cost of doing business. Hopefully the new, significantly increased, penalty costs will deter this thinking, but time will tell.

A Recent Example
In July of 2016, OSHA citations were given to the U.S. Postal Service for their branch in West Baden Springs, Indiana. These weren’t their first citations. The two citations and their individual items were repeat offenses. Addressing and fixing these problems would not have been expensive or time-consuming, yet employee health was not a priority.

The Repeat Infractions
The first citation covered three situations.

• A maintenance employee was not given asbestos awareness training and was not told of an asbestos hazard in their job – cleaning floors with broken tiles where the mastic contained 15% chrysotile asbestos.
• These tiles had been in this condition for more than two months, exposing employees to inhalation hazards.
• Because the maintenance employee had no training on asbestos awareness, the floor was cleaned using dry dusting, dry sweeping or vacuuming without using HEPA filters.

The second citation contained one situation.

• There were no signs or labels identifying areas containing asbestos.
These asbestos-laden areas included most floors and the exterior windows.

The Penalty
The penalties assessed for all these repeat citations combined was $49,720. Will they pay this amount? They have the right to contest the citations and penalties. Many times the amount is reduced.
This citation was issued on Friday, July 29, 2016. If it had been issued the following Monday, penalties would have been significantly higher due to the new fee structure. Would a higher penalty have made a difference? The answer is unknown, but it may encourage employers to address issues found during inspections immediately and eliminate a portion of repeat citations.
None of the situations above appeared worthy of correcting promptly, yet this exposure to employees could affect them up to 50 years in the future with lung cancer, asbestosis, or mesothelioma, which is a fatal cancer almost exclusively contracted through asbestos exposure.

Be Your Own OSHA Inspector
Any building constructed prior to 1980 is suspect for containing asbestos in the US; that includes residences. Though homeowners are not under OSHA regulations, it is in your interests to ensure any work performed in an older home is first tested by an abatement professional. Many contractors, especially small businesses, will demolish walls and floors without testing.

It is not worth any cost savings to have asbestos fibers spread throughout your home, furniture, clothing, and HVAC systems. Your family, visitors, and future buyers of your home will be safe from deadly asbestos fibers because you cared enough to do the right thing.

Byzantine Monks and Asbestos

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That would seem to be an unexpected pairing, but maybe not as much as you’d think. Asbestos has been found as an strengthening additive to pottery as far back as 4500 years ago. It was known to be used 2000 years in the past for producing textiles. An article, such as a napkin, could be cleaned by simply throwing it in the fire. It could also be made into a cloth to separate a body from the fire materials in cremation. Its reputation as a “miracle mineral” has been known for many centuries. However, the 2014 discovery by art researchers of chrysotile – white asbestos – in the finish coating of the plaster beneath a portion of a wall painting in a Byzantine monastery in Cyprus, was unexpected. Researchers were investigating 12th century paintings in the Enkleistra of Neophytos when they found a smooth, mirror-like layer on a portion of the painting surface.

“[The monks] probably wanted to give more shine and different properties to this layer,” said UCLA archaeological scientist Ioanna Kakoulli, lead author of the new study. “It definitely wasn’t a casual decision — they must have understood the properties of the material.” Many advanced techniques were used in their study of these paintings. As they examined them, they found the asbestos-rich layer between a plaster layer and one of red paint. “So far, we’ve only found it in relation to those red pigments,” Kakoulli said.

Adding to the mystery, the asbestos deposits were 38 miles away at a high elevation. It was another 700 years before asbestos was found in the coating of other paintings. Now that these were found, the researchers will return to previously studied paintings to see if they missed asbestos in other artworks. “I have a feeling that it’s something that can be easily missed,” Kakoulli said. “This was quite an accidental discovery.”

Though asbestos was used since ancient times, it is said that Pliny the Younger noticed in the first century A.D. that slaves, working around the mineral, became ill. Yet, 2000 years later, we are still putting people at risk in many parts of the world, including the US, by not banning this deadly mineral.

Upcoming ADAO Congressional Briefing

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If you’re reading this, you know about asbestos and the devastating impact it can have on lives. Due to the recent passage into law of extensive reforms to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a ban on asbestos in the US is promising. However, the need to capitalize on this momentum with senators is imperative. To that end, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is hosting the 10th Congressional Staff Briefing on September 13, 2016, from noon to 1:00 PM, in Washington, DC.

How Can You Help?
The ADAO invited the health and environmental staffers of all senators to attend. To encourage this, it is important to contact senators, therefore the most important action from you is to call your two U.S. Senators – calls from constituents are extremely motivating. The ADAO made this easy by supplying the following information:
1 Find your senators’ DC phone number here.
2 Call their offices using the script below. If necessary, leave a voice message and/or email the staffer.
3 Post your message on my Facebook wall to let the community know you have called and what their office said.

Phone script:
“Hello, my name is (first name) and I am one of your constituents from (town where you live). I’m calling to confirm that your health and environmental staffers received the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s invitation to their Staff Luncheon Briefing on September 13 at 12 PM. This invitation was sent to your office on Monday August 1. This briefing is important to me and I urge them to attend this educational briefing about implementing TSCA and why asbestos must be prioritized in the first ten high-risk chemicals. Please RSVP by Wednesday, September 7, 2016 via the link on the invitation flyer or call: (310) 251-7477. Thank you.”

If you want to do more, join the new 6-Word Quote || Raise Your Voice Campaign! Instructions on getting involved are on the ADAO blog.

Approximately 15,000 people lose their lives each year in the US due to asbestos exposure. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will announce ten high-risk toxins for prioritization in the next months. It is imperative that asbestos be on that list.

Bowling for Asbestos?

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A bowling alley, built in 1975, was in the process of tear down this July when the contractor found asbestos in the building. The City Manager of Alamogordo, New Mexico, Maggie Paluch, said, “As a city staff, we’re working diligently to fix the problem as soon as possible.” It was also discovered that wood from the bowling alley was sold to the public via Facebook before finding the asbestos contamination.

Asbestos exposure increases the risk for mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and other lung disorders. Any of these can decrease quality of life, but mesothelioma is a deadly cancer. Asbestos is made of tiny fibers that can lodge in the lungs. While any exposure can prove fatal according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mesothelioma is generally contracted from long periods of exposure.

According to Paluch, abatement will start soon since the safety of citizens is the top priority for the city.