Asbestos problem in India

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos problem in India, by V. Subramanian, N. Madhavan (Lung Cancer, 2005).

The study

• Authors: V. Subramanian, N. Madhavan
• Journal: Lung Cancer
• Published: 2005;49 Suppl 1:S9-12
• Cited by: 6 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Primary exposure to asbestos in India can be encountered in the form of asbestos mining, asbestos cement industries, asbestos processing unit and during renovation and demolition of old asbestos cemented roof or other structures as well as modern electrical as well as mechanical appliances in which asbestos is still found. Ultimately construction workers, electricians, vehicle mechanics and other workers in the building trades who are exposed to asbestos inhale hundreds and thousands of amphiboles, which causes lung damage. It is being mined in India at places such as Andhra Pradesh (Pulivendla), Jharkand (Roro), Rajasthan (Ajmer, Bhilwara, Udaipur, Rajsamand) and the common problem faced by the locals are asbestosis through air and fluorosis through drinking water. The problem continues to be in India as well as other developing countries. Also, India import and re-export asbestos to other countries and workers at shipyard, transport of the hazardous material on road and roadside residents all are vulnerable to this uncommon disease. The signs and symptoms generally found with the workers are shortness of breath, persistent and productive cough due to pulmonary fibrosis can show up many years after the asbestos exposure.

In plain English

This was a commentary on asbestos in India, drawing mostly on earlier published studies and government statistics. The authors reported that although India banned imports of asbestos waste in 1998, 74,398 kg were imported from Russia between April 2003 and February 2004. They plotted 20 years of government figures on asbestos production, imports and re-exports alongside deaths from respiratory disease in rural India and from acute respiratory infection in both rural and urban India. They described these deaths rising along with asbestos production and trade. They noted that Indian death records do not separate deaths due to asbestos from other breathing problems. The article also reported that soil around an asbestos cement factory in a northern Indian city contained asbestos fibers, more of them close to the factory, and that pond water held suspended chrysotile fibers. The authors stated that asbestos in parts of India occurs in fluoride-rich rock, so nearby residents may also face fluorosis from groundwater. They concluded that future work in India should study occupational asbestos exposure and that alternatives to asbestos should be found.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: commentary / narrative overview drawing on published studies and Indian government statistics
• Who was studied: India: 20 years of national figures on deaths from respiratory disease (rural India) and acute respiratory infection (rural and urban India); soil and pond water around an asbestos cement factory in a city in Northern India
• Exposure: asbestos (chrysotile discussed in particular) from mining, asbestos cement industries, processing, imports and re-exports, and imported asbestos waste
• Main results:
  • Although India banned asbestos waste imports in 1998, 74,398 kg were imported from Russia between April 2003 and February 2004
  • Over 20 years of national data, the authors observed deaths from respiratory disease (rural India) and acute respiratory infection (rural and urban India) rising in a trend similar to asbestos production, import and re-export
  • Soil samples close to the asbestos cement factory had more asbestos fibers than samples farther away. The smallest size class of fibers was found more often with increasing distance from the factory.
  • Pond (contaminated lake) water contained suspended chrysotile fibers, and sediments contained mostly coarse chrysotile fibers
  • The authors stated that asbestos often occurs in high-fluoride host rock in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkand and Rajasthan, so nearby populations also face fluorosis through fluoride in groundwater
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that future studies in India should address occupational exposure to asbestos and that an alternative to asbestos should be found for all uses
• Limitations the authors state:
  • No detailed data exist on deaths in India due only to asbestos, because records do not separate different sources of breathing problems

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos-Cement, Amphibole Group, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Asbestos Exposure.

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