Veterans are battling for chrysotile
May, 20 2011. On the eve of celebration of Victory Day labour veterans met in Asbest for the foundation of «Association of veterans of chrysotile industry”. They cooperate for the protection of Russian chrysotile industry and join the ranks of opposition to false attacks of antiasbestos campaigners.
More than 12 thousands of veterans, «gold reserves” of chrysotile enterprises, are ready to enter the new Association. At the Founding Congress, held on April 16, 2011, the day of Chrysotile’s protection, more than 500 veterans from 27 veteran’s union from cities Yasny, Asbest, Belgorod, Volzhsky, Sukhoi Log, and also Kazakhstan, Mordovia etc. participated.
There is a real war against chrysotile industry, headed by Governing bodies of European Union, number of international public and non-governmental organizations and some foreign mass media. They advocate global chrysotile ban and have already striped some hundreds of chrysotile workers all around the world of jobs.
In addition antiasbestos campaigners base upon scale medical-biological data, disregard results of independent scientific studies of Russian and foreign scientists, insistently ignore the difference between two groups of asbestos – amphibole, prohibited all around the world, and chrysotile, the safe type of mineral. Falsifying data number of west mass media have already transformed Asbest into ghost town.
But really Asbest is one of the most largest mono-towns where more than 70 000 citizens live, most part of who work in chrysotile industry. Veterans of asbestos industry dedicated their work life to asbestos and, many of them created work dynasties, leading their children and grandchildren to the industry. Their lives are the main evidence of safety of chrysotile in controlled use (under rules of factory hygiene at enterprises).
«We work at asbestos enterprises more than 30-40 years, we are really healthy people, we don’t suffer from lung cancer and other diseases, as in estimation in foreign countries. Stop to make false diagnosis and bury us beforehand. We are ready to state clearly that we associate to defend our jobs and to win», — veterans of chrysotile industry emotionally said at the Founding Congress of new association.
In his address to veterans, a governor of Sverdlovsk region A.S. Misharin noted that «stability of social situation in the town is inseparably connected with situation in asbestos industries”. “Stability of work of industry complex of Middle Ural region should to be defended from unethical competition”, — the governor concluded.
The pivotal motive of antiasbestos campaigners is the own commercial benefits. Negative experience of use of amphibole asbestos (which was banned in 50-60th years of XXth century) in West Europe needed them to look for alternative materials.
Antiasbestos lobby are authoritative multinational corporations, metallurgical and chemical concerns, which press for markets for their materials, more expensive alternatives of chrysotile. More than 500 thousands of people may become their victims because of loss of their jobs (up to whole cities such as Asbest), and it may cause negative economic and social influence.
In spring of this year Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed up the law “About ratifying of Rotterdam Convention”, which allows to Russia as competent member, to opposite to unreasoned decisions of antiasbestos about inclusion of chrysotile into listing of hazardous substances.
Russia is ready to share the experience of safe chrysotile use between all interested parties. According to Deputy Minister of Ministry of economic development Igor Manylov “results of our studies show that it is necessary to use rational industrial safety. There are no any hazards in resident use of asbestos-containing materials in our country and all other countries, such USA, China, Mexico, CIS countries».
According to veterans for more than one hundred history chrysotile industry in our country rub through difficulties of war, help in reconstruction of the country, and today the debt of these people to defend chrysotile industry in Russia.