Skip to main content

India 'continues' carcinogenic asbestos use, trade, manufacture amidst US import ban

By Dr Gopal Krishna* 
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), a member of Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI), has welcomed total import ban on White Chrysotile Asbestos, a mineral fiber that causes laryngeal cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and ovarian cancer by USA under the the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) which was amended in 2016. 
The new TCSA law provides the US Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) with more authority to restrict or ban commercial chemicals. The chrysotile asbestos ban is the first rule under the amended toxic chemical safety law. Unlike India which has imposed a partial ban on White Chrysotile Asbestos, US Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it is banning import of White Chrysotile Asbestos for all of the purposes for which these mineral fibers is used.
“The science is clear. There is simply no safe level of exposure to asbestos”, asserted Michael Regan, the 16th Administrator of USEPA, in a press conference while announcing the decision. 
Empowered by the amendment in TCSA, Washington, DC based US Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) has gone beyond its 35 years old 55 page long regulation dated July 12, 1989,  which had prohibited “the future manufacture, importation, processing, and distribution in commerce of asbestos in almost all products”under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances. Control Act (TSCA), 1976. But this 1989 prohibition was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on October 25, 1991. Sadly, the Court decision was not appealed by the US President George HW Bush administration.
It is because of the tireless altruistic work of Washington, DC based Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) and public health scholars like Dr Barry Castleman, the author of Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects, Prof. Arthur L Frank and Prof. David Michaels, the author of "Doubt is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health" that made the USEPA  to announce the final Part 1 rule prohibiting the importation and use of one type of white chrysotile as a significant step towards safeguarding the public health of present and future citizens of USA. 
Linda Reinstein, co-founder and president of ADAO has underlined that the rule has limited scope because it addresses only one of the six conditions. As a next step, the USEPA must restrict importation and use of five other recognized asbestos fibers, namely, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite. 
It is estimated that 50,000 Indians are dying of incurable asbestos-related diseases every year
She said,“Users of raw asbestos and asbestos-containing brake blocks and gaskets in the chlor-alkali, brake block, chemical and refining sectors will finally be required to transition to non-asbestos technology, but we are alarmed that the rule allows an unnecessarily long transition period and creates inconsistent compliance deadlines for certain asbestos users, which will allow dangerous exposure to chrysotile asbestos to continue for years to come.”
The victims of asbestos-related diseases are a community of the same fate. It is estimated that 50,000 Indians are dying of incurable asbestos-related diseases every year. In the US, more than one million US citizens have died from preventable asbestos-caused diseases during 1991-2021.The ruling parties and governments of USA and India must put public health before naked lust for profit, without being constrained by questionable electoral finance from asbestos based companies.    
The announcement by USEPA was made on March 18, 2024.TWA and BANI said, they hope that India will impose a total ban on trade, manufacture and use of deadly mineral fibers of White Chrysotile Asbestos. BANI has been working for making India free from asbestos and asbestos related disease since April 2002 with limited success. 
TWA and BANI urged USEPA to desist from allowing long phase-out periods for some specific asbestos users and from permitting five other types of asbestos mineral fibers, drawing lessons from some 70 countries which have banned asbestos of all kinds.
Notably, Dr S Jaishankar, Union Minister of External Affairs informed parliament on February 9, 2023, "There were asbestos concerns with regard to  Indian property in Washington DC It posed a challenge in preparing it for use as an Indian Cultural Centre.”  
It seems someone took India for a ride by selling a hazardous asbestos laden building in Washington D.C. An inquiry must be ordered by the government to ascertain who compelled India to buy asbestos laden property in Washington D.C. 
There is a compelling need for both the USA and India to enact a comprehensive ban on trade, manufacture and use of all six kinds of asbestos to pave the way for a future free from the tragedy of asbestos-related diseases.
---
*With ToxicsWatch Alliance and Ban Asbestos Network of India

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Beyond India-China borders: Economic links expand, political gaps persist

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  Despite growing trade between India and China, a persistent trust deficit continues to shape their bilateral relationship. Expanding economic engagement has not fully resolved political differences, many of which stem from historical legacies as well as contemporary geopolitical concerns. Border disputes—often traced to colonial-era arrangements—remain a significant obstacle to deeper cooperation, while differing strategic alignments in global affairs add further complexity.
Post a Comment
»

GreenTech Summit claims NCR as key green building hub, without pan-India comparison

By A Representative   The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), under the Confederation of Indian Industry, held its GreenTech Summit 2026 in New Delhi, where industry representatives, policymakers and sustainability professionals discussed the adoption of climate technologies in India’s built environment.
Post a Comment
»

Gujarat cadre to HDFC: When bureaucratic style hits corporate walls

By Rajiv Shah   I was a little amused by the abrupt March 17, 2026 resignation of Atanu Chakraborty —a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1985 batch who retired from the government in 2020—as chairman of HDFC Bank . Much of what may have led to his decision to quit this ostensibly high post—actually a non-executive, part-time role—is by now well known. I followed most of it online with considerable interest, partly because I had interacted with him umpteen times during my stint as The Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar from 1997 to 2012.
7 comments
»

Operation Epic Fury: Making America great at the world’s expense?

By N.S. Venkataraman*  ​The decades-long enmity between Iran and Israel is well-documented, but historically, their direct confrontations have been brief, constrained by the logistical and economic limitations of sustained warfare. The current conflict in the Middle East, however, marks a radical and dangerous departure from this pattern. 
Post a Comment
»

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah  Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".
51 comments
»

India has been getting its economic growth wrong for two decades, say top economists

By Jag Jivan*   India's official GDP figures have misrepresented the trajectory of the world's fifth-largest economy for the better part of two decades, according to a major new working paper published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). It finds that India overstated annual growth by up to two percentage points after 2011 — and understated it during the boom years of the 2000s.
Post a Comment
»

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.
59 comments
»

'Tax the top': Nationwide protests demand action as 1% control 40% of India’s wealth

By A Representative   Civil rights groups across the country observed the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh on March 23, as people from diverse backgrounds united to raise their voices against growing economic inequality. The mobilisations marked the launch of a nationwide campaign against inequality, running from March 23 to April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti), under the banner of the “Tax The Top” campaign.
Post a Comment
»

Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque under siege: A test of Muslim solidarity and Palestine’s future

By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  In the cacophony of Israel’s and the United States’ attack on Iran, one piece of news has been buried under the debris of war: Israel has closed the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to Palestinian worshippers during the holy month of Ramadan. The closure, announced as indefinite, affects the third most revered mosque in the Islamic world.
Post a Comment
»