It is admirable that the President had a
meeting with interested parties on his intention of banning ALL Asbestos
related substances by 2018. I trust even the major 5 Asbestos sheeting
manufacturers were also present, though I have a sneaky feeling they were not
invited.
On the last point, IT IS VITAL that all
employees who are exposed to Asbestos dust, especially in manufacturing are
protected as far as is practically possible. So as far as President’s
initiatives are concerned these Manufacturer representatives should already be
taking these precautions with Govt. health and safety experts inspecting the
Companies for compliance.
I recently saw some paid expert saying
the Asbestos in Sri Lanka is NOT harmful, and that it was definitely overkill
on the part of the President to take this drastic step. I disagree, all
developed Countries have rules with regard to this, and we should also follow
the same rules. It is puerile to say that roofing costs will go up, and therefore
it is against the Country’s interest to ban.
I challenge this myth created by the Asbestos
lobby, who must take the challenge and diversify into other cheaper roofing alternatives,
after raking in the enormous profits they have salted away from the poor man’s misery,
as they have simply been unable to self regulate their business. That is why the
Govt. checks in and tries to take action on behalf of the whole nation, and not
personal interest alone.
IT IS IMPORTANT that we stop this rumor of
Asbestos NOT being harmful, immediately and act accordingly. It is not just asbestosis
that we are trying to prevent. It is a carcinogenic agent, and we have enough cases
of cancer detected each day, and we must go about finding the causes of this one
by one, and take action on all the areas that contribute, and more importantly make
the public aware of the consequences of all their actions as it affects their health.
If the panel were headed by health experts,
I am sure we could be more forceful, and I note the respected Secretary of the Health
Services, Dr Mahipala was amongst the Public Officials present. Don’t forget however
that Public Officials in general have no clue on this issue and have to be guided
by experts. However if the experts who are easily corrupted by money, are bought
and paid for by the Asbestos lobby, incorrect myths will start to spread, putting
pressure on the Govt. to lighten some of the regulations. I would advise the Govt.
to be wary of the presence of such interlocutors, and act with caution in the public
interest.
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