Asbestos Campaign

Industry stakeholders are losing ground in the asbestos debate in the Philippines as a result of actions taken by various sectors of civil society. On April 20, 2009, civic officials from Benguet, 348 km north of Manila, launched a lawsuit against the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corporation for its secret dumping of six truckloads of asbestos-containing…

DOLE findings regarding Manila Thermal Power Plant

Scientists claim they have developed a more sensitive test for the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.

Throughout the majority of the 20th century, power plants were a common location for asbestos exposure. Before the 1980s, asbestos was considered an ideal material due to its insulating properties and ability to withstand high temperatures.

If there’s any truth to one of the many screaming banners that can now be seen in most of the strategic corners of BF Homes (Paranaque), then the developer and former water supplier of this biggest residential subdivision in the Philippines and perhaps in the region should not be allowed to revive its water distribution…

A Sangamon County jury last week awarded a former Springfield postal worker and part-time handyman $2 million at the conclusion of an asbestos-exposure trial.

Press Statement Protect workers in asbestos removal, labor group says “Protect workers doing asbestos removal from power plants, boilers and pipes now before it is too late”, urges Ernesto Herrera, former Senator and General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP). Asbestos removal from power plants and boilers puts workers at risk…

HUNDREDS of workers who helped build Yorkshire’s power stations are facing an “asbestos timebomb”, experts claim.

THE local government of Mankayan will pursue the filing of criminal charges against personnel of the mining firm, which dumped asbestos-containing materials at Barangay Sapid.

Asbestos is a danger to everyone because the fibers penetrate deep into the lungs when inhaled. Asbestos causes lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma (a form of cancer caused only by asbestos) with no known safe level of exposure. Asbestos poses more serious threats to workers, their families and the community due to unsafe asbestos removal…

The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines expressed their support for the early passage of the bill filed by Senator Santiago. Banning asbestos will remove a serious health hazard from the community, the joint chambers said in a letter to Senator Santiago.

POVERTY SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 2007 (Selected Non-Income Poverty Indicators from the 2007 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey)

CEBU, Philippines – A bill that prohibits the importation, manufacture, processing, use or distribution of asbestos, which is commonly used in shipping and construction industries, has been filed in Congress last week.

TOKYO, July 6, 2009 (AFP) – A Japanese court on Monday ordered the state to pay 76 million yen (800,000 dollars) to the family of a former US military base employee who died of lung cancer after being exposed to asbestos.

The threat of Influenza A(H1N1) in the workplace and elsewhere has caught the attention of everyone.

(OTTAWA) Twenty of Canada’s foremost health, environment and labour organizations are urging Canadian Parliamentarians to heed the call to ban Canadian asbestos being brought to Ottawa by three Grade 10 students from northern British Columbia. The students – Hayley McDermid, Claire Hinchliffe and Chloe Staiger, have written a bill to end Canada’s mining and export…

Misuse of restrictive relative clause makes zombies of dead war veterans

Canada’s CBC ran a special entilted “Canada’s Ugly Secret” on June 10 about an industrial area in India known as “The Golden Corridor,” where chrysotile asbestos, exported from Canada’s Black Mine, in Quebec, is being processed in factories.

It was once called the “magic mineral” and was touted as Canadian gold — a unique resource that was going to bring our country wealth and prosperity.

The town of  Marshall, North Carolina, according to story in the News-Record & Sentinel, has been cited by the state department of labor for several serious violations regarding the removal of asbestos-containing tiles from its city hall.

No amount of asbestos is considered safe. Products that contain greater than 1 percent of asbestos minerals are considered to be asbestos-containing.

All of the asbestos diseases have a latency period. The latency period is the gap between the time you breathe asbestos and the time you start to feel sick. The latency period for asbestos diseases is between 10 to 40 years. You will not feel sick during the latency period. If you get an asbestos…

Following are some very funny spelling bloopers caught in local newspapers, publications and various emails. See if you can catch the errors. – From Laffaday

May 2009  Good Practice Note:  Asbestos: Occupational and Community Health Issues   1.  Summary  The purpose of this Good Practice Note is to increase the awareness of the health risks related to occupational asbestos exposure, provide a list of resources on international good practices available to minimize these risks, and present an overview of some of…

Conflicting Proverbs Actions speak louder than words. The pen is mightier than the sword.

A proposal introduced by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) and four other congressmen has paved the way for the World Bank to finalize a new policy that will significantly decrease the use of asbestos in new construction projects for developing countries.

Following a letter of inquiry spearheaded by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and co-signed by four other Members of Congress, the World Bank has finalized construction guidance that would drastically decrease the use of asbestos in new construction projects.  The report, originally commissioned in 2006, was technically reviewed in 2008 but stalled awaiting final administrative approval. …

HONG KONG–Dozens of nations were to sign a new treaty Friday to make ship recycling safer, but activists call it a step backwards for the environment and the labourers who carry out the dangerous work.

HONG KONG, China (CNN) — The United Nation’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) has gathered this week in the shipping hub of Hong Kong to draw up new rules on ship recycling.

Local companies using chrysotile fiber in the Philippines and serving the construction industry, transportation industry, industrial process, mining and others for almost 50 years: