|
Mumbai, Jan 30 (PTI) - Indian Standards set for asbestos
cement products like PVC pipes and sheets should be made
more stringent to promote the eco- friendly product In the country,
an expert on asbestos has said.
Asbestos
cement products and their manufacturing technology are amongst
the most eco-friendly, cost-effective and safest technologies
said Dr. Joy Manglani, Director ACP Industry at the recently
concluded International seminar on "Intermittent Drinking Water
Supply System" here.
Keeping
the standards high would help the manufacturers and suppliers
to compete with the non-eco-friendly PVC pipes and ductlie pipes,
Manglani said.
"The
manufacturers and suppliers should insist on impact and bursting
tests and such standard quality of asbestos cement products
can save as much as Rs. Five billion annually for the Maharashtra
Government alone," he said.
For
both PVC and ductile iron, the raw material is imported and therefore
there is an enormous delay in supplying the material, he said.
However
for asbestos cement, the raw material is locally available and
is a low investment industry. Even the plant machinery could be
indigenous and put up in small and medium scale Industry without
any specialised skill, Manglani said. Manglani said India should
promote a strong lobby for asbestos as the World Health Organisation
has said the weight of evidence showed that ingested asbestos
is not hazardous to health.
Since
the U S Federal Court overthrew (reversed) the ban on asbestos
cement in 1991, saying the ban imposed in 1989 was not fair as
the industry is not listed as carcinogenic, it is all the
more necessary for Indian manufacturers to go for high quality
products to even compete In the Asian market.
During
manufacturing asbestos cement products, the asbestos fibre is
locked for life and during the entire manufacturing process (of
one month), the exposure of the fibre to the environment is of
few seconds, Manglani said.
Asbestos
is a group of naturally occurring minerals. It is made
up of microscopic bundles of fibres that become airborne when
disturbed. In its natural state, asbestos occurs throughout the
planet, in fact it is found in two thirds of the rocks in the
earth's crust, Manglani said.
The
fibres are released by erosion and carried by wind and water,
thus depending on the place, one may inhale between 10,000 and
15,000 fibres a day and ingesting many more. Also natural sources
of asbestos release more fibres into the air than industrial sources
do.
Asbestos is harmful only when inhaled in excess, however it is
harmless in water, Manglani said adding that-water contains asbestos,
from 200,000 to 2,00,000 fibres per litre, and in the regions
of Quebec where the world's largest asbestos mines are located,
the drinking water contains up to 170 millions per litre.
|
