Documents asbestos cement industry 46 results

"Il graphic novel "Eternit - Dissolvenza in bianco" vuole raccontare in maniera inedita una storia locale che ha però avuto, per le sue drammatiche conseguenze, un interesse nazionale: quella della fabbrica Eternit a Casale Monferrato, che portò dapprima il benessere e poi la morte agli operai e alle loro famiglie, a causa della polvere d'amianto respirata nell'azienda e in giro per la città. La storia è raccontata attraverso le vicende, pubbliche e private, di più personaggi, anche di altre realtà italiane legate all'Eternit, ispirati a persone reali che hanno avuto un ruolo significativo nella vicenda: per questo ha una ricchezza e un impatto emotivo che scrittori estranei alla realtà casalese non potrebbero esprimere. Viene evidenziata la progressiva presa di coscienza tra i cittadini dei rischi legati all'inquinamento da questo materiale, la necessità della bonifica e della ricerca scientifica, l'esigenza di giustizia che si è manifestata nella costituzione di più di tremila parti civili per il processo ora in atto a Torino contro i dirigenti svizzero-belgi della multinazionale Eternit. Il libro diventa dunque non solo la cronaca dì fatti avvenuti nel passato, ma anche un messaggio di consapevolezza e speranza per le nuove generazioni. Il racconto a fumetti è integrato da un'appendice di documenti contenenti una cronologia dei fatti principali della vicenda, dall'origine dell'Eternit all'attuale fase del processo e della bonifica."

"The incidence of cancer among employees of a Norwegian asbestos-cement factory was studied in relation to duration of exposure and time since first exposure. The factory was active in 1942-1968. Most of the asbestos in use was chrysotile, but for technical reasons 8% amphiboles were added.This study showed a high incidence of mesothelioma and a high ratio of mesothelioma to lung cancer among asbestos-cement workers. The high incidence of mesothelioma was probably due to the fact that a relatively high proportion of amphiboles was used in the production process."

"Criminal prosecutions of individuals in the asbestos industry are reviewed, particularly the case of asbestos owner-executive Stephan Schmidheiny. Italian courts sentenced Schmidheiny to sixteen to eighteen years in jail for creating an environmental disaster causing three thousand deaths. The convictions were overturned on a technicality, and a murder case against Schmidheiny has started. His firm, Eternit, made asbestos-cement building products in many countries. Schmidheiny directed a cover-up that the Italian Court of Appeal blamed for delaying the ban of asbestos in Italy by ten years. Today, the asbestos industry is a criminal industry, profiting only by minimizing its costs for the prevention and compensation of occupational and environmental illness. The asbestos industry should only be consulted by governments for the purpose of closing it and dealing with the legacy of in-place asbestos."

"El libro de Maria Roselli, periodista italiana radicada en Zurich, titulado en su versión castellana La mentira del amianto. Fortunas y delitos, editado por ediciones del Genal en Málaga (publicado primero en 2007 en alemán y posteriormente, en 2008, en francés) y que hoy ve la luz la edición para España y Latinoamérica, realiza una investigación profunda alrededor de las víctimas del amianto y de sus familiares, a las que escucha y hace hablar; y en torno a la principal familia en el negocio durante 85 años, los Schmidheiny, familia natural de Suiza, país en el que ha radicado el centro de dominación del mundo en lo relativo a este mineral a la vez “milagroso”, “mortal” e “invisible”, denominado amianto o asbesto y, metonímicamente, uralita en España."

"Written by Dr Rosalba Altopiedi and Dr Sara Panelli, who were part of the prosecutorial team during the trial, The Great Trial uses evidence from the Eternit criminal trial in Italy to show why the trial court and the appeals court sentenced Eternit's owner, Schmidheiny, to 18 years in jail and ordered him to pay millions in damages to the victims of Eternit's toxic asbestos. Much of the trial evidence was seized by police from the public relations firm used by Schmidheiny and it shows a longstanding plan to protect the Swiss shareholder from bearing any responsibility, civil or criminal. Embracing the First Amendment, ADAO is publishing the e-book free in English and Italian. Just last December, Schmidheiny's lawyers successfully threatened the original e-book publisher with a lawsuit in Switzerland and successfully had “The Great Trial” removed from circulation. Schmidheiny inherited control of the giant Eternit asbestos-cement business, with factories around Europe and South America, in the 1970s. Immediately upon taking control, he called his managers together in Germany for instruction on asbestos and health issues. Plant managers were instructed in lying to workers, the public, and the press about hazards to workers, consumers, and the environment. Casale Monferrato (pop. 35,000) has been ravaged by Eternit. On average, one person dies of mesothelioma every week. The people of Casale were betrayed when the last appeal of Schmidheiny's charges overturned the conviction as untimely (too many years had passed, the Court said). ..."

"Background:Although Belgium was once a major international manufacturer of asbestos products, asbestos-related diseases in the country have remained scarcely researched.Objectives:The aim of this study is to provide a descriptive analysis of Belgian mesothelioma mortality rates in order to improve the understanding of asbestos health hazards from an international perspective.Methods:Temporal and geographical analyses were performed on cause-specific mortality data (1969–2009) using quantitative demographic measures. Results were compared to recent findings on global mesothelioma deaths.Results:Belgium has one of the highest mesothelioma mortality rates in the world, following the UK, Australia, and Italy. With a progressive increase of male mesothelioma deaths in the mid-1980s, large differences in mortality rates between sexes are apparent. Mesothelioma deaths are primarily concentrated in geographic areas with proximity to former asbestos industries.Conclusions:Asbestos mortality in Belgium has been underestimated for decades. Our findings suggest that the location of asbestos industries is correlated with rates of mesothelioma, underlining the need to avert future asbestos exposure by thorough screening of potential contaminated sites and by pursuing a global ban on asbestos."

"For decades asbestos was considered an ideal substance and therefore was called 'the mineral of the twentieth century'. Even though the fiber had already proven much earlier to cause various ailments, a real boom began in the 1950s and prospered everywhere in Europe.
This book retraces the history of the Swiss asbestos cement company Eternit, investigating the strategy it developed – together with other asbestos industrialists – to prevent this carcinogen from being outlawed until, in 1999, an EU Directive was finally adopted to this end. The book also reviews the struggle of the asbestos workers and their families to gain official recognition of, and compensation for, the harm suffered."