THE RISE OF THE GLOBAL ASBESTOS VICTIMS’ MOVEMENT
Laurie Kazan-Allen
Presented at the Social Panel: International Conference on Mesothelioma
Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 9, 2008

Asbestos is the world’s most devastating industrial killer; while companies andgovernments profited, workers and producing communities experienced a silent epidemic
that maimed and killed at will. In the absence of official interest, deaths went uncounted
and suffering went unacknowledged. After 20 years studying global asbestos issues, I candistil my experience as follows: “No one ever gave asbestos victims anything they didn’t
fight for.”In 1980, there were only a handful of isolated victims’ groups working on asbestos
issues; nowadays such groups exist on 6 out of 7 continents; Antarctica being theexception. The last time I counted, there were in excess of 60 groups, many of which
offer assistance in person, by telephone and on-line. 1 In 1980, not one country hadbanned asbestos, as of now all industrialized countries have either prohibited or seriously
restricted its use with more than 40 national bans in place. 2 Worldwide asbestos usage
has more than halved from 4,728,619 tons in 1980 to 2,023,447 tons in 2006. Industry
propaganda which maintains that asbestos can be “used safely under controlledconditions” has, as far as international agencies and developed governments areconcerned, been totally discredited; there is now a global consensus that the best way toeliminate asbestos-related diseases is to ban asbestos.
Magic Wand or Sheer Hard Graft?
Wresting control of the asbestos debate away from vested interests has not been easy
nor has it been quick. Accomplishing this major paradigm shift from “controlled use” to“no use” has been the result of years of hard work. It has required the mobilization not
only of asbestos victims and their supporters but of scientists, environmentalists, doctors,civil servants, trade unionists, engineers, technicians, lawyers and academics who wereable and willing to take on powerful and well-resourced opponents. Making common
cause with asbestos campaigners often laid the professionals open to attack from ruthless
corporate bully boys such as Denis Hamel of the (Canadian) Chrysotile Institute andindustry thugs, well paid to victimize those who campaign for a ban.
International Action
The rebirth of the global asbestos victims’ movement took place in Brazil at the GlobalAsbestos Congress in 2000. For the first time, asbestos victims’ groups and campaigners
from many countries met with trade unionists, politicians, doctors and other experts to1
2

See Appendix A: Global Asbestos Victims Groups
Current Asbestos Bans and Regulations. See: http://ibasecretariat.org/lka_alpha_asb_ban_280704.php

1explore the possibilities for future collaboration. The pioneering efforts of ABREA andits supporters, organizers of GAC 2000, were fundamental in laying the groundwork forthe social network which has blossomed since that meeting.
What is Being Done…
Using the internet and innovative outreach programs, civil society in countries aroundthe world are succeeding in raising public and professional awareness of asbestos issues.
Increasing collaboration amongst different sectors of civil society is maximizing theeffectiveness of the campaign to ban asbestos and provide support for asbestos victims.
The bad old days when the asbestos industry had a stranglehold on media andgovernment debates on asbestos are long gone. Even in Canada, a country so devoted toasbestos that they named a town after it, coverage about the national asbestos epidemic is
beginning to appear in the media. In Brazil, one of the world’s leading asbestos producers,
journalists routinely consult ABREA on stories about asbestos; considering the situation
10 years ago, the input of victims into the Brazilian national asbestos debate hasradicalized coverage of this issue.
Recent Asbestos Events
The escalation of local, national, regional and global interest in asbestos is revealed bythe numerous asbestos events which are being held in both developed and developingcountries. A look at the asbestos calendar reveals increasing collaboration by victims’groups which have actively reached out to potential allies in trade unions, the medicalcommunity, academic institutions, the legal professional, town councils and Parliaments.
A by-product of this new inclusiveness has been a series of imaginative initiatives, manyof which are landmark events.
November 2007••••

The International Asbestos Conference, Yokohama, Japan. On the occasion of
the 20th anniversary of the Ban Asbestos Network of Japan, representatives fromcivil society in Asia and Europe compared national systems for compensating
victims of asbestos-related diseases. 3
Asbestos Workshop, Yokohoma, Japan was organized by the National Railway
Union and IBAS; it was the first session held on asbestos by this trade union
branch.
The Philippines Forum on Banning Asbestos was held by affiliates of theBuilding and Woodworkers International, a global labor federation.
The 2007 Asbestos Memorial Service of the Asbestos Diseases Society ofAustralia took place at the Redemptorist Monastery in Perth. This was the 12thyear this service has been held; as usual, the hall was full to capacity. 43

http://ibasecretariat.org/lka_yokohama_conf_rep.php
Kazan-Allen L. Asbestos Activism Down-Under. January 2008.
http://ibasecretariat.org/lka_asb_act_aus2007.php

42

December 2007•••

An Asbestos Session was on the agenda of the Workshop on Occupational andEnvironmental Health in The Asia/Pacific Region Workshop, a two-day event
coorganized by the Collegium Ramazzini in Bangkok, Thailand.
Asbestos Meetings in India included presentations by international experts on
medical and environmental asbestos issues.
Christmas Picnic and Barbecue held by the Asbestos Diseases Society ofAustralia provided victims, family members and supporters a chance to enjoy atypical Aussie barbecue and meet Father Christmas at Whiteman Park, Perth.

January 2008
•A campaign began to mobilize NGOs in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Russia to raiseawareness of the asbestos hazard and to make asbestos a priority campaigningissue.

February 2008•••

International Trade Union Conference on Asbestos, a two-day conference heldin Vienna by the Building and Woodworkers International, provided affiliatedunions from Central and East European countries with updated and impartial
information on the asbestos hazard.
International Conference on Malignant Mesothelioma in the Twenty-FirstCentury, a two-day conference in Cairo, was organized by the National Instituteof Cancer, Cairo University and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat(IBAS); it was the first international conference on mesothelioma in Egypt.
Action Mesothelioma Day was marked throughout the UK with balloon releases,
conferences and public events to highlight the on-going national asbestos
epidemic which is claiming more than 3,000 lives every year. 5March 2008•••Mesothelioma Study Day in Manchester, England focused primarily on medical
treatment and care of patients but also considered legal and political issues.
The 4th Annual Asbestos Awareness Conference held by the Asbestos Diseases
Awareness Organization brought members of the global ban asbestos community
together for 3 days of activities in Detroit, Michigan.
Save the Rotterdam Convention!, a campaign backed by groups representing
civil society from every continent, was launched on March 11, 2008 to highlightthe threat posed by blocking the inclusion of chrysotile on the Prior Informed
Consent list of the Rotterdam Convention, a potentially life-saving multilateralagreement.

5Kazan-Allen L. Day of Asbestos Action. February 2008.
http://ibasecretariat.org/lka_amd_08_report.php

3April 2008•••

On International Workers’ Memorial Day, trade union events in New Delhi,
Chennai (Tamil Nadu State), Thrissur (Kerala State), highlighted the asbestos
hazard construction workers face and called for a ban and support for the injured;in Islamabad, Pakistan 1,700 workers marched through the streets with banners
and placards calling for an asbestos ban; in the Philippines, there was a large
outdoor demonstration in Quezon City followed by an asbestos workshop and thesymbolic signing of the Ban Asbestos Now Mural!
A concert to raise money for mesothelioma research was held in the town ofDeskle, a Slovenian asbestos hotspot due to the operations of a large asbestoscement factory in the area.
Asbestos was on the agenda of The International Conference on OccupationalCancer in Stirling; this event brought trade unionists, activists and academics
from Australia, the U.S. and Europe to Scotland for two days of plenary sessions
and strategy discussions.

May 2008•••The Annual Asbestos Seminar in the House of Commons was the setting for astimulating presentation by Professor Bruce Robinson from the National Centre
for Asbestos-Related Disease Research in Australia. Politicians and victims’
representatives at this meeting asked: If Australia can have a centre, why can’t
Britain?
A Hearing by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour on the HealthImpact of Asbestos on Workers in India was held in New Delhi. Campaigner
Madhumitta Dutta, a grass-roots activist, gave a presentation about hazardous
exposures experienced by those involved in the mining, processing and use ofasbestos in India.
A briefing of Democratic staffers on the Energy and Commerce Committee inWashington D.C. was held to discuss a House bill to ban asbestos and institute apublic awareness campaign. Experts who gave evidence at this hearing included:
Mrs. Linda Reinstein, Executive Director of the ADAO, the voice of U.S.
asbestos victims.

June 2008••A series of asbestos events in São Paulo and Vitoria da Conquista, Poções, Bom
Jesus da Serra, Brazil is being held which will include workshops on medical,legal and social issues presented by some of the world’s leading experts.
The XVIII th World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, an ILO event, istaking place in Korea and includes 3 symposia on Asbestos:ILO & WHO Action Toward the Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases (ILO)
Asbestos – A Global Disaster (ISSA)
Asbestos: International Trade Union Campaign on Eliminating Asbestos Use andPreventing Asbestos Disease (BWI)4

July 2008••

Two days of asbestos meetings, strategy sessions and workshops in Seoul andBusan, Korea organized by asbestos victims, academics, NGOs and trade unions
will focus on asbestos issues in Asia highlighting the transfer of dirty technology.
A series of seminars and meetings including discussions on future events in HongKong.

Concluding Thoughts
In some countries, national umbrella groups, like ABREA, the Asbestos Victims
Support Group Forum UK and the Japan Association of Mesothelioma and AsbestosRelated Disease Victims and their Families, enable asbestos victims’ groups to speakwith one voice. Regionally and internationally other groups, such as IBAS, the Ban
Asbestos Network, the Asia Monitor Resource Center, the Asian Network for the Rightsof Occupational Accident Victims, the Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health andEnvironment Foundation and others carry the message forward.
The asbestos odyssey which began in Osasco has brought us many victories. Asbestos
has become a pariah substance throughout the industrialized world and has even beenbanned in some developing countries. Judging by the events listed above, there can belittle doubt that victims’ groups and campaigners are now participating at the highest
levels of asbestos policy-making in many countries. The formation of new global
alliances such as the NGO Platform on Shipbreaking and the Rotterdam Convention
Alliance are enabling asbestos victims to make common cause with other groups fightingsimilar battles around the world. Together we are stronger. Our goals remain a global banon asbestos and justice for all asbestos victims. A luta continua (The struggle continues)!

5Appendix A
International Asbestos Victims’ Support Groups
Australia
Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia
Asbestos Diseases Society of Victoria
Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia Inc.
Gippsland Asbestos Related Diseases Support Inc.
Queensland Asbestos Related Diseases Support Society Inc.
Belgium
National Association of Belgian Asbestos Victims (ABEVA)
BrazilAssociação Brasileira dos Expostos ao Amianto (ABREA); branches in Osasco, Rio deJaneiro, Simões Filho, Vale do Paraíba, São José dos Pinhais, Minaçu, São Caetano doSul and Poções.
CanadaBan Asbestos CanadaAsbestos Victims Association of Quebec
Chile
Association of Asbestos Victims (ACHVA)
FranceAssociation Nationale de Defense des Victimes de l’Amiante (ANDEVA): 20 branches
throughout France
Ban Asbestos France
Hong Kong
Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims in Hong Kong
India
Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational Accident Victims (ANROAV)Ban Asbestos Network of IndiaItaly
The Italian Association of the Asbestos-Exposed (AEA): branches in Casale Monferrato,
Monfalcone and Padua
Japan
Ban Asbestos Network Japan (BANJAN)
Japan Occupational Safety and Health Resource Center6

Japan Association of Mesothelioma and Asbestos-related Disease Victims and their
Families
Netherlands
Dutch Asbestos Victims’ Committee
New ZealandAsbestos Diseases Association of New Zealand
Switzerland
Verein für Asbestopfer und Angehörige
Comité d'orientation et de défense des victimes de l'amiante (CAOVA)
United Kingdom
Society for the Prevention of Asbestosis and Industrial Diseases
Hull Asbestos Action Group
Clydeside Action on Asbestos
Clydebank Asbestos Victims Group
Sheffield and Rotherham Asbestos Support Group
Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group
Merseyside and District Asbestos Support Group
Cheshire Asbestos Victims Support Group
Bradford Asbestos Victims Support Group
Barrow Asbestos-Related Disease Support
Barking and Dagenham Asbestos Victims Support Group
Hampshire Asbestos Support and Awareness Group
Derbyshire Asbestos Support TeamRidings Asbestos Support & Awareness Group
Northeast Asbestos Support and Awareness GroupThe Asbestos Victims Group for NW Ireland
Justice for Asbestos Victims in Northern Ireland
USAAsbestos Diseases Awareness Organization
White Lung AssociationLibby Asbestos Victim's Support7