We invite our members to read the Declaration and sign the petition.

Sign the petition here.

Read the Press release here.

Read the North American Declaration for the Elimination of Asbestos.

The proportion of global asbestos use attributed to Asia has been steadily increasing over the years from 14% (1920–1970) to 33% (1971–2000) to 64% (2001–2007).

Asbestos use in Asia has now reached formidable levels in terms of per capita use and absolute volumes and a surge of asbestos-related diseases should be anticipated in the coming decades.

Read more here.

SEM of UICC Asbestos Chrysotile 'A' standard (http://serc.carleton.edu)

The Board of iMig deeply regrets that the Quebec Government has provided the loan guarantee that enables resumption of asbestos mining in Canada. It is further regretted that the majority market for the such asbestos is likely to be the developing countries. Our previous statement on the matter stands as below:


We, the Board of iMig, wish to expand on our position, in response to the points summarized in the New York Times article of February 3, 2011 (see article link in menu at right).

We strongly disagree with Mr. Coulombe’s assertion that there are “…all sorts of studies done over the last 25 years all around the world that demonstrate that there is no problem working with chrysotile”. On the contrary, all types of asbestos have demonstrated their ability to cause asbestos-related diseases. People in the medical community, physicians and researchers have consistently provided evidence for this relationship. It is the reason that the “World Health Organization (WHO) has declared chrysotile a carcinogen and notes that the most efficient way to eliminate asbestos-related diseases is to stop the use of all types of asbestos”.

Taking into consideration all the work done in the last 25 years, the WHO document, “Elimination of asbestos-related diseases” (dated September 2006) states that “The incidence of asbestos-related diseases is related to fibre type, fibre size, fibre dose and to industrial processing of asbestos. No threshold has been identified for the carcinogenic risk of chrysotile”.
(http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/asbestosrelateddisease/en/index.html).

Thus, it is not possible to set a lower limit value for asbestos exposure under which there is no risk for human health. In other words, there is no safe use of asbestos. Even when efforts are taken to reduce exposure and control the handling by users, the life cycle of asbestos-containing products and the dissemination of used materials will needlessly expose a large population to this hazard.

For more information, see the IBAS report entitled “Cynical Relaunch of Canadian Asbestos Industry”

G. Bernard Coulombe, president of Mine Jeffrey. He says the type of asbestos mined there, known as chrysotile, is not harmful.

Here is an article from the New York Times discussing the proposal to reopen the Jeffrey mine in Canada.

G. Bernard Coulombe, president of the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos (Quebec), argues that chrysotile asbestos mining should resume. The political strength of asbestos will be tested this month when the province is expected to announce a decision on the loan guarantee.

As you may know, iMig has taken a position against the re-opening of the mine and future sales in India, Pakistan and Vietnam.

Canadian chrysotile in Indonesia

A powerful editorial by Prof. Gilles Paradis of McGill in the Canadian Journal of Public Health. A call to arms to Quebec’s public health organisations to stop the Jeffrey mine and to demand a ban on the mining and export of chrysotile asbestos.

You can read the article here.

Here you can find more info on our commitment to this cause.

Dangers in the Dust: Inside the Global Asbestos Trade is based on extensive research in eight countries. The team relied on thousands of pages of documents, including court filings, scientific studies, and financial records, as well as on interviews with health officials, industry representatives, scientists, victims, lawyers, and activists.

The team’s reporting reveals close relationships among the industry, governments and scientists, and cites predictions from health experts that new epidemics of asbestos-related disease will emerge in the coming decades. Some experts believe that by 2030, asbestos will have taken as many as 10 million lives around the world.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/asbestos

The Collegium Ramazzini’s mission is to advance the study of occupational and environmental health issues and to be a bridge between the world of scientific discovery and the social and political centers which must act on the discoveries of science to protect public health.

Suggested by Dr Jim teWaterNaude MBChB, MPhil (MCH), FCPHM

Read article (download).

The U.K. recognizes that society’s obligation and moral responsibility to remedy the tragic legacy of decades of asbestos use requires funding research to develop effective medical treatments. Will the United States follow?
Santa Barbara, CA (PRWEB) March 5, 2010 — The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation today publicly praised the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice for its progressive and constructive new position on asbestos disease.
Last week, the U.K.’s Minister of Justice, Jack Straw, announced that, along with the vast legal aspects of the asbestos cancer, mesothelioma, the government has an obligation to also address its medical aspects. With this announcement, the U.K. recognizes that the industrial legacy of asbestos, from which all of society has benefited, creates an obligation on the part of society and the government to help those who now bear the burden — suffering and loss of life from asbestos-caused disease.
Therefore the U.K. government has committed to support a “National Centre for Asbestos-Related Disease, a collaborative network of funded researchers whose core purpose would be to advance medical research into the prevention, cure and alleviation of asbestos-related disease and primarily mesothelioma.”
Not only would development of effective mesothelioma treatments serve justice, it would also significantly reduce the costs of litigation, death and disability benefits, and healthcare. Recognizing this, the U.K. insurance industry has also pledged £3 million towards the National Centre for Asbestos-Related Disease.
“This is exactly what the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has been urging in the United States the past ten years,” says Christopher Hahn, the Foundation’s executive director. “Mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases are a fundamental problem of social justice. And a just solution to that problem requires medical research to develop effective treatments to end the suffering and save lives. It is encouraging to see that the U.K. is getting it; we hope the U.S. will catch up soon.”
Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor of the lining of the lung, abdomen or heart caused by asbestos. Medical experts consider it one of the most aggressive of all cancers. For decades it was regarded as untreatable, deadly and hopeless; and so, in a sad, self-fulfilling prophecy, the need for research to develop effective treatments was mostly ignored. For the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and today’s patients, their families, and the millions of Americans who in the last five decades have been exposed to asbestos and are at risk for the cancer, this is unacceptable. The Foundation believes in a cure for mesothelioma, and is committed to funding the research critically-needed to understand and improve treatment of it.
In addition, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation provides patients and families with the most up-to-date information on mesothelioma treatments, clinical trials and medical referrals. The Foundation hosts the annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, which unites doctors, researchers, patients and families, legal advocates, interested pharmaceutical companies, union representatives and other concerned individuals to share information and advance meso research. The Foundation also leads the effort in Washington, D.C. to gain federal investment in mesothelioma research funding and to ban the further use of asbestos.

For more information visit the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation’s website at www.curemeso.org.

Read the article here.

A normal mesothelium cell (or any cell for that matter) can only reproduce a certain amount of times. This keeps certain cells from invading other cells. Cancer occurs when those cells become mutated and their limits are removed, allowing them to reproduce uncontrollably. These abnormal cells then form a lump that is known as a tumor. In a benign tumor the abnormal cells do not spread into surrounding areas, but malignant tumors do have the ability to spread. If the tumor is left untreated then it may spread and destroy the neighboring tissue. Sometimes cells can even break off the original tumor and spread to other organs and tissue through the bloodstream or the lympathic system. The lympathic system is part of the immune system. It is a complex system that includes the bone marrow, the thymus and the spleen, and lymph nodes throughout the body that are connected by a network of lympathic vessels. When the cancer cells reach a new site they may continue to divide and form a new tumor, which is referred to as a secondary tumor or a metastasis.

Mesothelial cells line the chest cavity, the abdominal cavity, and the cavity around the heart. They also cover the outer surface of most internal organs. The tissue that is formed by these mesothelial cells is called mesothelium. Mesothelium helps protect the organs by producing a lubricating fluid that lets organs move around. This fluid makes it easier for the lungs to expand and move around inside the chest during breathing. The mesothelium in the chest is called the pleura and the mesothelium around the abdomen is known as the peritoneum. The mesothelium around the heart (or the pericardial cavity, a sac like space around the heart) is called the pericardium.

The asbestos disease mesothelioma has a long latency period, where it is present but not evident or active. The disease can lie dormant for ten to sixty years after being exposed to asbestos. Because of this, it is often hard to determine the cause of mesothelioma.