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Asbestos and the Chinese OlympicsApril 14, 2008 China has long been one of the world’s largest producers and users of asbestos. It has also been a country with very high industrial injury rates from accidents like the recent rash of mining disasters, workers exposure to toxic chemicals, and high pollution levels. Environmentally, China is itself a disaster. Although these so-called Green Olympics in China are much ballyhooed, and the Chinese government denies the use of asbestos in its massive construction projects, the question remains: Have any Olympic venues been built with asbestos? The world class athletes of the Games are the picture of health itself. They are the refinement or ideal of a healthy individual. It would be a shame of course if the locations these athletes competed in actually harmed their health. While to date no asbestos exposure or use has been noted at the venues, many anti-asbestos and environmental organizations worry about just such a possibility. Ominously, as work on the Olympics progressed, China's reliance on asbestos increased. Between 2001 when it was awarded the games, and 2006, annual consumption increased by 35%. Almost three million tons of asbestos were used over this period. Because China has been growing at a fantastic rate and thereby putting stress on world markets in all areas related to construction such as concrete, steel and energy, it is indeed curious that the use of asbestos has likewise gone up during the pre-Olympic period. Although it is not proof, it is nonetheless worrisome. In 2001 china used just under 400,000 tons of asbestos and by 2006 they were using 530,000 tons. Their percent of global production went from 21 to 26 % during the same period.
While we may want to assume that the International Olympic Committee is making sure that no asbestos has been used in constructing the Olympic venues and residences, we have no guarantee of that. Let us assume for a moment that in fact the toxic mineral has not been used? Since consumption has gone up almost 35 percent, it means that somewhere in Chine, even if not in the Olympics, the Chinese are using more of the very deadly substance.
The top five users of asbestos in the world are generally recognized as China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan and Brazil in that order. All of them (except for India) are also top producers of asbestos. China uses almost twice (82% more) as much asbestos as Russia in the number two spot. It uses almost four times as much as the number five user in the world, Brazil. For much more detailed statistics on asbestos see the US Geological Surveys webpage.
Clearly, as with population, China is in a league of its own when in comes to asbestos use and production. China’s lack of real, as opposed to merely legislated, protections for its people and workers is legendary. The mining safety record and very high rates of cigarette smoking are just two of the more visible examples of this lack of any effective government assistance. Asbestos use is just another area that points out why living and working in China can be a dangerous thing to do. Unfortunately, most Chinese have few options to change their living and working situations
W.R. Grace to Pay $250 Million Settlement Over Asbestos
March 12, 2008 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States government announced on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 that W. R. Grace & Company has agreed to pay the federal government $250 million for environmental cleanup around its mining operations in Libby, Montana. Grace is a worldwide chemical company that has been driven into bankruptcy by hundreds of millions of dollars in asbestos toxic tort law suits. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency announced the settlement describing it as the largest payment ever ordered under the federal Superfund program. This program cleans up designated sites that have extensive environmental problems. The settlement requires the approval of a federal judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy proceedings and does not resolve a separate criminal case in Montana also arising from Grace’s alleged asbestos contamination of Libby, a small community in the northwestern part of the state. A Grace spokesman, Greg Euston, said the company was pleased with the settlement but that he could not comment further on orders of the judge in the criminal matter. The EPA referred questions to the U.S. Justice Department. A Justice Department spokesman Andrew Ames said that the department could not comment on the settlement because it is a continuing criminal case. Three years ago federal prosecutors charged W. R. Grace and seven senior employees with knowingly exposing miners and residents in Libby to asbestos. Over one thousand people became ill, and some died, according to prosecutors. An extensive cleanup operation has been under way in and near Libby since May 2000. In 2003, a federal court in Montana ordered it to pay the environmental agency $54 million for investigation and cleanup costs incurred to that point, but the money has not been paid because of the bankruptcy proceeding. The settlement announced on Tuesday takes account of that payment and directs that future payments be directed to a special E.P.A. account to be used to clean schools, homes and businesses in Libby, Montana that are contaminated with carcinogenic asbestos dust. The material came from a vermiculite mine and processing plant the company operated in and near Libby from 1963 to 1990. The vermiculite, which is used in insulation and other building materials, was contaminated with high levels of asbestos. Asbestos is known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma, a fatal tumor of the lining of the chest and abdomen. Exposure to asbestos also causes scarring of lung tissue. IBAS Announces New WebsiteNovember 13, 2007 IBAS, the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, launched a new website today at http://www.ibasecretariat.org/. The website offers articles on asbestos and related issues, event and conference schedules, information and resources. The International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), established in 2000, provides a conduit for the exchange of information between groups and individuals working to achieve a global asbestos ban and seeking to alleviate the damage caused by widespread asbestos use. Such use may be largely historical in the established economies of the West but is continuing in developing nations. Since its inception, IBAS has been involved in co-sponsoring and supporting national and international conferences furthering the above aims. In so doing, IBAS has sought to counter the asbestos industry's control of the information stream and to provide a platform for victims to speak out against the injustices they have suffered. IBAS has a continuing role in raising public awareness of asbestos hazards and providing informed comment on current developments. Federal-Mogul's Bankruptcy Reorganization Is Finally Approved November 8, 2007 Federal-Mogul Corp., the maker of Champion spark plugs based in Southfield, Michigan, won court approval of a reorganization plan that resolves the billions of dollars in asbestos claims that pushed the company into bankruptcy six years ago. The reorganization plan approved by a Pittsberg court sets up a trust to compensate victims of Federal-Mogul's products that often contained asbestos. Federal-Mogul's plan attempts to take care of as much as $9.4 billion in asbestos claims, according to court papers. Federal-Mogul used asbestos, a heat- resistant material that can cause respiratory illness, in brake pads. Jose Maria Alapont, named Federal-Mogul's chief executive officer in 2005, told Bloomberg News in June that the company expects to be profitable after emerging from bankruptcy protection. The company had $22.1 million in net income for the first three quarters of the year, compared with a loss of $82.6 million for the same period last year. Federal Mogul makes engine parts like pistons for automakers as well as replacement parts such as brake pads and Moog brand shocks. The company employs 45,000 employees in 35 countries. The 157 companies that make up Federal-Mogul filed for Chapter 11 protection in October 2001 to deal with more than 500,000 asbestos claims. Before the company can exit bankruptcy, its plan must also be approved by federal District Court Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez in Camden, New Jersey. In August, Fitzgerald approved a $3.5 billion financing package to pay for the company's exit. Under the plan, the asbestos victims' trust would be funded with insurance proceeds and at least $775 million. On October 1, 2001, T&N Ltd., formerly the UK's biggest asbestos group, ceased paying asbestos-related disease claims when its American parent company, Federal Mogul (FM), filed for voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. and administration under the UK Insolvency Act of 1986. Years of cross-Atlantic negotiations, scores of court appearances and millions of pounds of professional fees later, the UK courts approved plans for T&N to exit the administration process.
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