India, the world’s most populous nation, is also its largest importer of asbestos. The deadly substance is linked to a range of devastating respiratory diseases, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. Yet despite this, asbestos continues to be used widely across the country, with no obvious end in sight.
While the appeal of asbestos is obvious for a rapidly growing nation, the downsides are equally stark. As both the government and businesses continue to ignore the burden on individuals, what is the future of asbestos in India—and could action to ban asbestos in India have a snowball effect on asbestos across the world?
A toxic legacy
The dangers of asbestos were recognised decades ago, leading many countries to ban its use. However, India continues to use it in substantial quantities. As well as being abundant—and therefore cheap—it is also an excellent insulator against heat and electricity, making it perfect for insulating walls, pipes, ceilings and more. This has made asbestos a go-to material for thousands of buildings being rapidly erected across the country.
Not all contact with asbestos is deadly; indeed, asbestos products can still be found all around us in the UK, where it remains in many public and private buildings. The issues with asbestos are twofold: that it’s difficult to process safely, and that it’s extremely dangerous when it is damaged or loose, and the tiny fibres it releases are breathed in. In India, the prevalence of asbestos in manufacturing and construction means it’s a ticking time bomb, and one where time is already starting to run out.
India’s rapid urbanisation has led many old buildings containing asbestos to be demolished, increasing the risk of exposure exponentially. The informal building sector, which employs millions of workers in India, is also often characterised by poor safety standards, making workers particularly vulnerable to asbestos-related illnesses. And while asbestos is no longer being mined in India, it is being processed into asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), which can expose workers, their families, and local communities to the deadly substance.
How asbestos is harming India
The health impact of asbestos exposure is insidious. Diseases often manifest years after initial exposure, making it difficult to establish a direct link between asbestos and illness. By the time symptoms appear, it is often too late for effective treatment. But despite the overwhelming evidence of asbestos’s dangers, the industry continues to exert considerable influence in India. Economic arguments are often used to justify the continued use of asbestos, with claims that it creates jobs and is essential for certain construction projects.
The obvious counterpoint is that asbestos leads to much greater long-term costs in terms of public health. Yet the reality is a stark one: many affected individuals cannot access free healthcare, and lack the insurance or the money to be treated privately. The result is that while some may receive small payouts from the companies—as shown in this Al Jazeera report—many will suffer and die in relative silence, with little justice available.
The lack of stringent regulations and enforcement has also allowed the asbestos industry to operate with impunity. Workers in asbestos factories often lack adequate protective gear, and there is little oversight of the disposal of asbestos waste. The issue also disproportionately affects women, who are often employed in low-wage, informal sectors like the textile and manufacturing sectors, where safety regulations are lax or nonexistent, and where asbestos can be heavily used.
Driving political change
The Indian government has been criticised for its tepid response to the asbestos crisis. While there are regulations in place, their implementation is often lax, and enforcement appears patchy. Laws governing the safe handling of asbestos go back to The Factories Act 1948, while two Supreme Court cases have mandated more oversight at state level, but done little to ensure this takes place.
There have been some positive steps. The government has established the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) to conduct research and provide guidelines on occupational health hazards, notionally including asbestos. However, critics argue that the NIOH has been slow to act on the asbestos issue, and has often been accused of downplaying the risks. This falls in line with previous government statements on asbestos, with a minister in 2011 stating that the risks of chrysotile asbestos were as-yet unproven.
Compensation for workers suffering from asbestos-related diseases is another major challenge. The process is often lengthy, bureaucratic, and fraught with difficulties. While some lawyers will work pro-bono with asbestos victims, not everyone has access to legal support, meaning many workers and their families are left to bear the financial burden of medical treatment and lost income.
–
The ongoing asbestos crisis in India demands urgent attention. The onus for this lies with the government, and changing the rhetoric around asbestos from acceptance to opposition. As with any major change, however, some pressure needs to be applied from below. There’s a need to increase awareness about the dangers of asbestos among the general public, building a groundswell of pressure on policymakers. Education and training programs can also help to prevent future exposure, and mitigate the impact of this silent killer.
The international community also has a role to play in supporting India’s efforts to address the asbestos crisis. It’s easy to judge from the outside, but moralising about the dangers of asbestos won’t help anyone. By sharing expertise and providing financial assistance, other countries can help India implement safe alternatives to asbestos, and strengthen its public health infrastructure to tackle the existing legacy of the substance.
In the long term, however, a complete ban on asbestos is essential. The damage caused by asbestos is permanent, long-lasting, and ultimately incurable, meaning that every second wasted is one second too many. Until the government moves to ban asbestos products —and provide incentives for industries to transition away from asbestos—families across the country will continue to suffer.