A Study on Current Status: Asbestos Mining and Health Related Problems in India

Asbestos use was in existence all over the world, though its health impacts are more as per the occupational health and safety concern brought a ban by many countries. Asian countries like India, China are the major consumption of asbestos due to its affordability, availability and wide use. In recent year’s substantial quantity of asbestos are imported from Canada. The quality of asbestos produced in India is poor. Significant occupational exposure to asbestos occurs in cement industry, textile and mining and milling industries which leads to hazardous diseases. The permissible exposure limits are drawn and it has been noted that even low levels of exposure lead to asbestos related disease. So there is no safe use of asbestos and no safe exposure limits set by WHO, ILO, OSHA. Due to poor occupational setup these asbestos related diseases like pulmonary fibrosis, malignancies are in the rise and are expected to be high. This leads to a major occupational and public health concern.