Victims and activists reiterate call for a total ban on all forms of asbestos

Victims and anti-asbestos activists met in Hanoi, Vietnam last September 6-7, 2015 to strengthen global solidarity against the killer mineral asbestos. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence against asbestos, including chrysotile, it continues to be used in various Asian countries and campaigners are worried about the explosion of asbestos-related disease in Asia in the coming years.

 

“My father worked with asbestos, he died from it. My mother and I never worked with this fibre, but we are also sick because of asbestos,” said Mr. Rajendra Pevekar, an asbestos exposure victim from India. “When I was young, my father would come home from work all dusty. We never knew the dust would kill him and that it will make us all sick.”

 

 

According to the World Health Organization in 2014, more than 125 million people are being exposed to asbestos and more than 107,000 die from asbestos-related disease every year, including mesothelioma.