HEALTH VERSUS ECONOMY: THE ASBESTOS DEBATE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

by Tinashe Madava

The decision by the rest of the world to ban the use and importation of asbestos on health grounds is a big blow to South Africa and Zimbabwe, two of southern Africa's economic giants whose economies are mainly based on minerals.

Although the basis for banning asbestos may be genuine, the two economies are threatened with collapse since they have been exporting huge quantities of the mineral to European and American markets, which have now decided to ban the mineral.

Asbestos is being banned on health grounds. The main disease caused by asbestos inhalation is asbestosis, which includes the scarring of lung tissue, lung cancer, and fluid on the lungs. Exposure to asbestos also causes mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs, abdomen or heart.

Against the background of a looming ban on the use and importation of asbestos in the European Union (EU) and America, Zimbabwe's total output declined by 21.8 percent from 32,862 tonnes in the first quarter of 1998 to 25,687 tonnes in the first quarter of 1999.

In their analysis of the local mining industry, the Zimbabwe Financial Holdings Limited (Finhold), said while the asbestos ban in the EU could not have immediate impact on Zimbabwe's asbestos mining industry, given the existence of other markets in Asia, growth in the sector would definitely be threatened in the long term.

This is mainly because there is likely to be intense competition arising from other world producers such as Canada for export markets outside the EU.

"Given the fact that the domestic market is very small, consuming only about 10 percent of the total output of asbestos produced in Zimbabwe, an eventual slowdown in exports will inevitably lead to a contraction of the asbestos industry," said Finhold.

In the middle of the year, the EU widened the ban on use of asbestos to cover almost all applications of the cancer-causing material. The prohibition will not take full effect for six years.

The EU's executive Commission said its members have until January of 2005 to remove from the market all white asbestos, known as chrysotile, which is still used in pipes and roofing, brake and clutch linings for heavy vehicles and various specialist uses.

According to the Commission, many EU nations plan to bring in the ban sooner, or have already done so. The only exception to the asbestos ban is the use of chrysotile in the production of chlorine, since no alternative product is available and the risk to health is low.

In 1991, the EU banned five of the six forms of asbestos and the use of chrysotile in 14 types of products. Exemptions were allowed for some uses of chrysotile while alternative products were developed.

The new EU ruling does not require existing asbestos to be removed from buildings. "The risk to health from asbestos in buildings is usually very low, if it remains undisturbed," the Commission said.


Meanwhile, in South Africa, reports of illnesses linked to asbestos inhalation continue to rise. The country's department of Health has ignored a report on the effects of `low-grade' asbestos sheeting used in Soweto township houses.

Compiled by the department's National Centre for Occupational Health (NCOH), the report claims that Soweto residents are exposed to lethal asbestos fibres.

The report says levels of asbestos pollution in some Soweto homes, nearly 10 times higher than accepted safety levels. But the findings, produced in 1995, have not been followed with further research.

Everite, the company contracted by the previous government to supply asbestos roofing for low-cost houses in Soweto and other townships has questioned the report's accuracy.

The company supplied most of the asbestos roofing used in nearly 70 percent of the low-cost houses in Soweto and a section in the Western Cape. It sold asbestos materials, made with the more dangerous blue and brown asbestos, until 1985, when the dangers of such fibres became known. The asbestos products it currently sells contain around 10 percent of the "safer" white asbestos.

Although asbestos has proved to be a cost-effective material for affordable housing, the danger of such materials rises greatly when it ages, or when it is tampered with. Some of the roofs in Soweto date back more than 40 years. Few of the houses have ceilings so the material sits exposed in the house and few residents have called on professionals to undertake routine maintenance.

This is also the case in Zimbabwe where roofs for many low-cost houses are from asbestos. Complains of cheap asbestos leaking in the rainy season have raised fears of contamination. Unfortunately, few surveys if any at all, have been made to establish the extent of the problem.

South Africa's Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital says most of the asbestos-related disease cases it has picked up - asbestosis and mesothelioma - are among patients who grew up near asbestos-mining areas, such as the Northern Cape.

In Zimbabwe, people who grew up around the asbestos producing mine in Zvishavane have for years complained of various illnesses. Of late, these victims' concerns have been ignored by the authorities.

However, the Zimbabwean government has been lobbying the international community not to effect the ban on asbestos, arguing that this would have a negative impact on its economy. Environmentalists have in turn criticised the government for "failing to honour the sanctity of life" with respect to the asbestos debate.

Faced with an obligation to preserve the health of citizens, southern Africa needs to maintain asbestos production to bankroll national economies and enhance regional economic stability. (SARDC)