asbestos in Thailand: SCAREY

Asbestos-linked illness wave on the way
Widespread use of the industrial mineral puts many Thais at risk

* Published: 10/07/2010 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: News

Thousands of Thais are likely to fall ill with asbestos-related illnesses in the next few years - the legacy of decades of widespread use of the industrial mineral.

About 90% of asbestos fibres in Thailand are found in roofing tiles and cement pipes. Homebuyers may not know that their homes contain the carcinogen.

Use of asbestos has been banned in 47 developed nations after exposure to the mineral, used widely in the construction industry, resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Workers exposed to asbestos in the workplace came down with chronic lung diseases and lung cancer, caused by inhaling microscopic asbestos fibres, in some cases decades before the disease came to light.

Mesothelioma is a lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

International organisations, including the World Heath Organisation (WHO), support a ban on asbestos use.

But the mineral is still legally in use by manufacturers and builders here.

It can help absorb noise, and is resistant to heat, electrical and chemical damage.

The first case of a Thai dying of mesothelioma was reported in 2008. The 75-year-old man had worked in a roofing tile factory that had been using asbestos for more than 20 years.

Doctors believe he inhaled asbestos fibres two or three decades ago. It took that long for his cancer to develop.

Thailand has used asbestos for over 30 years.

Pichaya Pakthongsuk, a medical lecturer at Prince of Songkla University, estimates up to 1,200 Thais with mesothelioma are likely to emerge every year before long.

She provides the estimate based on the fact that the country imports more than 100,000 tonnes of chrysotile asbestos a year.

That is equivalent to asbestos use of 3kg a head, a rate considered high and potentially hazardous.

In Thailand, about 90% of the asbestos sold goes into roof tiles and cement pipes.

The rest goes into the production of brakes and clutches, vinyl floor tiles, gaskets and heat insulating materials.

Pressured by consumer groups and health advocates, the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) in March issued a regulation requiring that materials which include asbestos must display a consumer warning about how it can cause cancer and other serious lung diseases.

But the measure is viewed by many as insufficient and ineffective. Without an outright ban, they believe more people are likely to fall ill from asbestos-related diseases.

A small warning logo, designated by the OCPB as being 3x3 centimetres in size, would simply not be sufficient to alert consumers about the potential hazards, says Witaya Kulsomboon of Chulalongkorn University's faculty of pharmaceuticals.

"I don't think the public are aware of the labelling requirement," he says. "Homebuyers may not know, or may not ask whether their house has asbestos in it."

The threats from exposure to asbestos are not just limited to those workers in factories making materials containing asbestos.

Demolition or other forms of disturbance to buildings containing asbestos could spread the substance into the air, extending the risk to passers-by and residents as well.

Transportation of asbestos materials, and disposal of asbestos waste also poses a danger to the public, he says.

Many developed countries banned asbestos in the 1990s, after asbestosis-related diseases came to light following heavy use of the material there during industrialisation from the 1960s to 1980s.

Overseas, the number of patients suffering from asbestos exposure is likely to drop by 2020 due to the ban, says the researcher. Here, the number of patients falling ill has only started to rise.

Apart from causing mesothelioma, asbestos also contributes to lung cancer and the lung disease asbestosis.

"People who smoke and are exposed to asbestos double their risk of lung cancer," says Mr Witaya.

Consumer groups led by the Foundation for Consumers have called for a ban on the import and use of asbestos in Thailand for the sake of public health.

They also want a regulation stipulating measures on the demolition of buildings containing asbestos, based on internationally-accepted standards.

Although some manufacturers and developers have stopped using asbestos due to safety concerns and the availability of alternatives, others are still at it, he says. The alternatives include polyvinyl alcohol, for roof tiles.

"It costs a few thousand baht more to build a small townhouse with non-asbestos materials," he says.

Mr Witaya believes the government should step in. "Some companies have told me they would be willing to stop using asbestos if the government issues a regulation banning it," he says. "We really need long-term prevention measures. Why are we waiting?" he asks.

wazza wrote:747

Does the local municipality regulations cover any of this ?

Do they have any sort of mediation / consultation programme.

I know its Thailand , and not the UK, etc... but worth checking ?

homer wrote: By the way, other things that asbestos has been used in is ceiling tiles(drop ceilings) and school chalkboards.