Need for creating awareness against use of asbestos

Asbestos is a name given to a group of naturally occurring minerals contained within rocks. Though it is largely produced in Russia, it is found in many countries. Since asbestos does not burn, it is used as a protection against fire or heat.

Those working in factories must be cautious about the presence of asbestos material and must protect themselves from inhaling it. Use of asbestos is banned in many countries. Having known that it is carcinogenic and also the cause of some other fatal lung diseases, appropriate steps should be taken to protect people working in areas with presence of asbestos.

What are the places where asbestos may be present? In the past it was used in home furniture, floor tiling, and roof ceiling. Plastic toilet systems often had a small amount of asbestos added to the material to improve strength. Asbestos was extensively used for thermal insulation in factories like refrigeration, power plant, etc. Asbestos was commonly used in brake pads, automobile clutches, roofing materials, vinyl tile, cement pipe, corrugated sheeting, bath panels, and hardboards. Presence of asbestos is most likely in the furniture, machinery and equipments brought from the scrapped old ships. Although they are cheap, they pose a great risk of lung cancer. These materials are still present in old buildings, ships and automobiles. Not being aware of the consequences there is a great possibility that these are being recycled and still available in the second hand market and are being used by many.     

Many people suffer from lung complicacies in Bangladesh. But due to absence of research works, cause of such lung diseases remains unknown. Our people are at grave risk of inhaling asbestos fibre, which is a great concern for lung diseases. Many of us do not know that our household items, automobiles, the buildings where we live in or work may contain carcinogenic asbestos material. We are not really aware of or not attentive enough to control the spread of asbestos fibre in our air. Who knows that the chair we sit on, and our mattress and carpets are not made of asbestos material? Most of the old ships coming to Bangladesh for scrapping have asbestos material in abundance.

There is a great need for creating awareness among the people about the harmful effect of asbestos. The consumer items having asbestos in them must be identified first. At the time of purchasing furniture or any other material suspected of containing asbestos, customers must be sure that the product he is going to buy is asbestos-free.

Compared to other countries in the world, health and safety of the people in Bangladesh could not be properly addressed. However, it may be controlled to a large extent by banning use of asbestos. Media should also take initiative to create awareness among the citizens.

The writer is Technical Advisor, International Ship's               Classification Society.                      [email protected]