The International labour Organisation (IlO) celebrates the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28 to promote prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. It is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on emerging trends in the field of occupational safety and health and on the magnitude of work-related injuries, diseases and fatalities worldwide.
The theme of the day for 2015 is “Join in building a culture of prevention on Occupational Safety and Health”. A national safety and health culture is one in which the right to a safe and healthy working environment is respected at all levels, where governments, employers and workers actively participate in securing a safe and healthy working environment.
The fundamental nature of occupational safety and health (OSH) is the management of occupational risks. Its application can be adapted to a range of situations, from the simple needs of a small scale enterprise to the multiple needs of hazardous and complex industries such as mining, chemical manufacturing or manufacture of building materials.
The manufacture of some building materials for construction industry creates occupational hazards and environmental hazards. Asbestos use is considered as an environmental and public health concern. According to an IlO estimate, there are about 1,00,000 deaths every year from lung cancer and mesothelioma caused by previous exposures to asbestos. This is due to lack of education of workers, unaware of the hazards of their occupations at their workplaces.
Continuous use of asbestos is a cause of great concern today. Despite a reduction in asbestos production, asbestos use is growing in developing countries. Preventive safety and health facilities in these countries are largely underdeveloped while exposure levels are high. India is emerging as the major user of asbestos where the developed world phasing out its use. India is the largest importer of asbestos, according to the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics. Asbestos mining and milling activity is concentrated in the small scale sector in India, whereas asbestos products are manufactured in small, medium and large scale sectors. About 2,500 tonnes of chrysotile and 35,000 tonnes of tremolite asbestos are annually mined in India. Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar are major asbestos mining belts with 20,000 tonnes being mined from these three States yearly.
Asbestos fibers can be moulded or worn into fabrics, nonflammable and a good heat insulator. Asbestos is strong and resistant to heated chemicals. They are used in India as fireproof products such as safety clothing for firefighters and insulation such as hot water piping. Besides, asbestos is widely used as floor tiles, ceiling tiles and roof materials. Usually asbestos is mixed with other materials to form the products. Floor tiles, for example, may contain only a small percentage of asbestos. Depending on what the product is, the amount of asbestos in asbestos containing materials (ACM) may vary from 1 per cent-100 per cent.
Millions of workers in developing countries continue to be unnecessarily exposed to asbestos despite the fact that it is a carcinogen. Chrysotile asbestos, which accounts for 95 per cent of today’s asbestos production and use, is classified as a carcinogen by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
There are significant public health concerns as members of workers’ families and people who live near production sites are at risk. There are cases of asbestos-related diseases being diagnosed among family members who were exposed to clothes contaminated with asbestos. In general, workers’ knowledge about health risks due to asbestos exposure is low.
Asbestos in general does not pose any health risk. When it is broken during processing, it may release the asbestos fibre dust. For example, if an asbestos ceiling tile is drilled or broken, it may release fibres into the air. When left intact and undisturbed, asbestos-containing materials do not pose a health risk. Asbestos pipe and boiler insulation does not present a hazard unless the protective canvas covering is cut or damaged in such a way that the asbestos underneath is actually exposed to the air.
Therefore, control of asbestos dust should be achieved as near the source as possible. This increases the efficiency of the control process, minimises costs and prevents the spread of dust into adjacent areas. Manufacturers and vendors should ensure that equipments are provided with devices to collect asbestos dust where it is produced and has settled. They should provide purchasers with instructions concerning safety in their use and should draw their attention to the hazards which may occur when these instructions are not followed.
In many parts of India, asbestos is sold without statutory warning symbol in the market, and in a majority cases the workers do not wear the protection gear. In order to address the continuing burden of diseases caused by exposure to asbestos, the IlO has developed international standards and guidelines for elimination of asbestos-related diseases (ARD) worldwide.
The IlO provides legislative and practical bases for worker protection against harmful asbestos exposures by prescribing comprehensive preventive measures at national and enterprise levels. Among other measures, the IlO Convention on Safety in the Use of Asbestos provides for replacement of asbestos or certain types of asbestos or products containing asbestos by other materials or products.
Workers whose jobs involve exposure to asbestos dust should be provided with health supervision. All asbestos-containing products should have an internationally recognised warning symbol designating the product as asbestos-containing and warning the user that inhalation of asbestos dust may cause serious damage to health. All workers should be provided with education and training in regard to sources of asbestos dust exposure, potential health effects, risks associated with asbestos dust exposure and smoking, and methods of prevention.
Asbestos fibres may be replaced by various substitute fibres, both natural and manmade. Dr Praharaj teaches at the Department of Architecture, College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar