Asbestos : Country Profile BANGLADESH Dr. S M Morshed Vice Chairperson, OSHE Bangladesh Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Foundation (OHSE) www.oshebd.com

Presentation outline Demographic and Socio Economic Date Current Regulation on the Different Forms of Asbestos Import of Asbestos in Bangladesh Asbestos consumption Asbestos contained materials Domestic Production of Asbestos & Asbestos containing materials Estimate workers exposed to asbestos Industries exposure to asbestos and high risk of exposure Burden of Asbestos Related Diseases System for Inspection and exposure limits Major studies on epidemiology of asbestos related diseases

Bangladesh –at a glance Total Population 153 million Life Expectancy 67 Years Poverty Rate 29.06 % Literacy Rate 50.82% Total Labor Force 57 million Labor in Industry 17.64% Per Capita Income 923 US dollar

Current Regulation on the Different Forms of Asbestos By regulation Asbestos are not “illegal” or unauthorized in Bangladesh. Import Policy for 2009-2012 has no restriction on asbestos. there is no specific government circular prohibiting internal production of asbestos. Ministry of Commerce is responsible for controlling Asbestos in Bangladesh  

Current Regulation on the Different Forms of Asbestos 1. Bangladesh Customs Tariff Code (BCTC) mentioned of asbestos as importable items 2. BCTC classifiably mentioned asbestos cement, fabricated asbestos of fibers, mixtures with a basis of asbestos, compressed asbestos fibers jointing, in sheets or rolls, friction materials containing asbestos.

Current Regulation on the Different Forms of Asbestos Labour Act -2006 of Bangladesh has declared 'Asbestosis' as a occupational disease. Govt. has imposed only 25% import tax on it. Asbestos traders are commonly alleged for hiding the information. Due to that exact volume of imported asbestos cannot be found.

Import of Asbestos in Bangladesh Fiscal Year Duration Total Import USD Monthly import USD Remarks 2010-2011 July 2010- January 2011 10,03,866 143409 Statistics Locally available but could not be verified from any alternate source 2009-2010 July 2009- June 2010 15,47,880 128990 Source: Import Department of Bangladesh 2008 Jan- DEC 417240 Source: United State Geographical Survey (USGS) 2007 Jan-Dec 470184 39182 Statistics available in international documents 2006 Jan- Dec 447876 37323 2005 2004 343200 28600 2003 480480 40040 Source: Publicintegrity.org/asbestos consumption

Sources of Asbestos being imported in Bangladesh Australia, Austria Bulgaria, Canada China, Cambodia Denmark, Finland French, Germany Hongkong India Source – Bangladesh Bank

Types of asbestos & asbestos contained materials imported Raw Asbestos Article of Asbestos Cement. Cellulose fibre-cement or the like Corrugated Sheets Asbestos sheets Asbestos Panel Asbestos Tiles Asbestos Tubes Asbestos Pipes Asbestos Pipe Fittings Fabricated asbestos fibers (thread, woven fabric, clothing, head-gear, footwear, gaskets). Clothing Footwear Headgear Paper Mill hoard Asbestos fiber jointing in sheet or roll Friction materials (sheets, rolls, stips, segments, disks, washers, pads for brakes or clutches) Brake linings or pads

Forms of Asbestos Raw asbestos Metallic form Gaseous form Food-graded form Powder form

  USE of ASBESTOS Construction industry: insulation, sound absorption, strengthen cement. Car Manufacture: brake shoes clutch pads, gaskets. Shipbuilding: to insulate boilers, steam pipes, and hot water pipes. Everyday Exposure: heat mats, carpet, blankets etc.

Domestic production of asbestos containing materials Asbestos is widely used in dying of clothes. The dying factories use liquid form of asbestos to ensure the color more brightness and longevity.

Estimate workers exposed to asbestos   There is no specific survey findings on how many workers are exposed to asbestos in the country.

List of industries where exposure to asbestos a) Construction Industry b) Car manufacturing Industry c) Ship breaking Industry d) Shoe Making Industry e) Electronic Pen Production Industry f) Food Production Industry g) Shoe making Industry h) Paper production industry

Largest number of workers potentially exposed to asbestos   Construction Industry Car Manufacturing Industry Ship breaking Industry

Ship Breaking Industries : High Risk of Exposure

Survey Findings Knowledge Level on Asbestos 1 out of 17 ship breaking yard managers knows about Asbestos 5% of the worker-supervisors are aware of Asbestos 2% of the general workers heard the word ASBESTOS

RISK ANALYSIS : Workers Attitude towards ASBESTOS Workers show a reluctant attitude even when they hear about possible harmful affects of asbestos exposure as they never heard anybody suffering from any diseases due to this.

Burden of Asbestos Related Diseases National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) under the Ministry of Health mentioned in the position paper that several serious conditions are indirectly caused by Asbestosis, such as Mesothelioma, heart disease and lung cancer. But NIPSOM did not mention any information on disability adjusted life years.

Incidence of diseases & compensation There is no case of official acknowledgment as asbestos victims Directorate of Health Could not provide information on asbestos related diseases The Labour Act-2006 of GoB acknowledged asbestos related diseases as compensable.

Government Mechanism for Inspection and compensation The The Government mechanism is that Department of Inspection under the Ministry of Labour and Employment is responsible for enforcement even to ensure the compensation, where applicable in line with Labour Act

GAP Analysis 1. Inadequate Information on Asbestos 2. Lack of understanding at different levels 3. Lack of interest among Govt. agencies to explore asbestos related information 4. Lack of Media Role on asbestos as public health issue 5. Importers are not aware on health hazard of asbestos. 6. Lack of research on asbestos in public health domain 7. Lack of diagnosis and identification asbestos victim

Ongoing campaign initiatives by OSHE a) Conducting basic research and compilation of information from secondary sources b) Sharing findings with stakeholders Promoting the discussion and advocacy action on ban asbestos at different level Building social alliance with different stakeholders. Production & dissemination of campaign materials Awareness raising in ship breaking yard and construction sector.

Towards Future Campaign Program Extensive research /study on use and effects of asbestos in Bangladesh Strengthening collaborative actions ( Ban Asbestos Network, Bangladesh ) and Develop Campaign Strategy Production of IEC materials on asbestos issues Orientation on Ban Asbestos for importers, GoV. officials and Media Persons Introduce special diagnosis facilities in public hospitals for workers dealing with asbestos

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