Asbestos in Eastern Europe and Central Asia A Public Health Time Bomb

1
Asbestos in Eastern Europe and Central Asia - A
Public Health Time Bomb

• Women in Europe for a Common Future - WECF

www.wecf.eu
2
All Asbestos Kills

• WHO estimates that currently 125 million people
  are being occupationally exposed to asbestos,
  including women and children
• ILO estimates asbestos causes 100.000 deaths
  globally every year through occupational exposure
  alone.

3
EECCA Asbestos - just as bad

• WECF discovered with shock that NGO partners
  wanted to use asbestos for ecological
  construction
• NGOs and the public had been told, that their
  asbestos was safe
• WECF bought samples in Kazakhstan and had them
  tested in a laboratory in Germany
• The chrysotile asbestos from Ka zakhstan is no
  different

4
Huge asbestos use in EECCA region

• We discovered
• almost all new buildings are build with asbestos
• Asbestos Industry is powerful
• Scientists and politicians are not aware

5
Women and children affected

• Primary exposure is often regulated by the
  governments
• But even secondary exposure is effecting millions
  of women and children in the EECCA region
• Cases of mesothelomia cancer
• Women washing clothes of asbestos workers
• Women playing as child near asbestos factory

6
Women and children at risk

• mesothelioma development risks increase sharply
• in the case of long-term exposure to low doses of
  asbestos comparatively
• rare exposure to high doses
• Therefore, women and children at risk from
• Houses, schools, playgrounds with asbestos
• Asbestos dust in cities with asbestos factories

7
WECF project on asbestos

• WECF started a project on inventory and awareness
  raising

8
Previous Actions

• Publishing an inventory report on asbestos in
  EECCA region in English and Russian
• Publishing a fact sheet on asbestos in EECCA
  region in Russian, Kazakh, Ukrain and English
• Presenting the finings at a side event at COP4 of
  Rotterdam Convention