In a most strange and shameful act BCCI (Soon to be in Forbes List of Richest Companies)does not want to honour the 1983 Cricket World Cup Winning Team becuase of Kapil Dev's involvement with the Indian Cricket League (ICL), the Board has decided against commemorating 25 years of India’s momentous World Cup win---Its very shameful on BCCI who have forgotten the very basic team of 1983 on rewriting the cricket history in India. If not for 1983 World Cup win Cricket could not have been popular as its now in the form of IPL. But Crickers of 1983 winning squard are planning a celebration all through the year.
Related article on The Telegraph
“Frankly, I wouldn’t have minded had the Board decided to honour everybody except me… You can’t, after all, ignore such a big achievement… I didn’t win the World Cup alone… Mujhe nahin bulate to bhi theek tha,” Kapil told The Telegraph on Thursday evening.
Speaking on the sidelines of an ICL function to mark actor Mithun Chakraborty becoming a “co-owner” of the Kolkata Tigers (to be renamed Royal Bengal Tigers from the ICL’s second season) team, Kapil added: “Even if the Board isn’t doing anything, Sunil (Gavaskar) is organising a private function at Lord’s on June 25… It’s for the players and by the players and I’m looking forward to it…”
Gavaskar has booked the Long Room there for a “sit-down dinner.”
According to Kapil, Gavaskar sounded him out some weeks ago and the 14-member World Cup-winning squad could meet after a month or so to finalise what else needed to be done that day.
“Today, I don’t have any emotions… Am not thinking too much of June 25… But, yes, I’m bound to get emotional once all of us reassemble at Lord’s… It will be a special occasion,” Kapil remar- ked.
Asked why the Board, which felicitated Test captain Anil Kumble (for taking 600 wickets) earlier this week, wasn’t doing anything to remember the 1983 heroes, an office-bearer bluntly said: “That’s because we want to look ahead, not back… Why go back to the past?”
Astonishing, really.
The gentleman needs to be told that the 1983 World Cup win changed the face of Indian cricket. Encouraged Sachin Tendulkar to dump tennis… Elevated cricket to a status much beyond sport…
And more.
Kapil, by the way, isn’t the only member of that squad involved with the ICL. Three others — Sandeep Patil, Madanlal and Balwinder Singh Sandhu, all of whom featured in that memorable final against the West Indies — are also on the Board’s blacklist.
The Board can stop their pensions (the matter, expectedly, is in court), but can’t rewrite history...Thankfully.
Report from Yahoo Sports
The itinerary for silver jubilee celebrations of India's 1983 World Cup victory has been finalised. Kapil's Devils will be seen in action in four six-a-side matches across the country next month. Then, a dinner function will be held in Dubai on June 19 before the big bash on June 25 in the Long Room at Lord's, where India claimed the World Cup on the same date 25 years ago.
The celebrations will include a music programme and a golf tournament, for which invitations have been sent to several of the the West Indies players who featured in that famous final. All this is not being organised by the Indian cricket board but by Sunil Gavaskar's firm, Professional Management Group (PMG), and is being seen by many as a snub to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Sources say that the BCCI, which in recent times highlighted how it rewards former players, has been reluctant to take up the World Cup silver jubilee project because it would involve inviting players such as Kapil, Sandeep Patil, Madan Lal and Balwinder Singh Sandhu, who have aligned themselves with the rival Indian Cricket League (ICL).
"I'm not hurt that the board is not organising the function," Kapil told The Indian Express. "Why should I be hurt? Yeh meri shaadi ka jashn hai (this is like a celebration of my wedding), why should anyone else celebrate it for me? The important thing is not whether the board is backing off because of me or the ICL, but whether we will invite the board members or not. Right now, it doesn't look like that we'll interested in calling them. This is an event by Sunny (Gavaskar) and I'm helping him with it."
The BCCI's chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty confirmed that they would not be holding any function for the 1983 champions. "We're not doing anything. Let them do whatever they're doing. We haven't got any invitation from them for any intimation," Shetty said.
Sources say the board is stuck in a catch-22. "The BCCI has decided to stay away because of reasons known to everyone," said one board official, who did not want to be named. "It has players that are part of ICL and therefore cannot be part of any official function organised by the board. We have no option but to go by the rules," he added.
Invitation letters from Gavaskar's company have been sent to every member of the squad. According to sources, written confirmation from only three-four players is pending. "But we'll get it in a day or two," a PMG official said.
"We've all got a collective mail from Sunil Gavaskar, inviting us to be part of our World Cup celebrations and I have given my confirmation," Madan Lal said. Kirti Azad also confirmed that he had got an invite, adding that he was looking forward to the "reunion".
----------------------
Hope that Millions of Indian do remember this as a Most Breathtaking Moment in the History of Indian Sports. All the best and wishes for the 1983 Squard if not for BCCI we the millions of Indians are proud of your marvelous acheivement in the Indian History
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Tamil New Year ---- Is Goverment playing with Public Sentiment ?
The Hindu Astronomical Significance of the Tamil New Year that Earth travels in an eliptical path around the Sun through 360 degrees (Paakai in Tamil), and the time period for one such complete travel around the Sun (Suriyan in Tamil) is called an Year (Aandu in Tamil).
The circumferance of the eliptical path traced by the Earth having the Sun as the central point - are divided into twelve arcs, and the angular segments traced by each arc measuring 30 degress is called a House (Veedu in Tamil or Rasi in Sanskrit). Thus the earth passes through twelve Houses in an year.
The Tamil Seasonal Significance of the Tamil New Year. We have divided an year in to six seasons based on the climatic conditions in Tamil Nadu. They are namely the,
Ilavenil Kaalam : mild sunny period : Chithirai, Vahasi - Thingal
: mid April to mid June
Muthuvenil Kaalam : intense sunny period : Aani, Aadi - Thingal
: mid June to mid August
Kaar Kaalam : cloudy rainy Period : Aavani, Purataasi - Thingal
: mid August to mid October
Kuthir Kaalam - cold period : Iyppassi, Kaarthihai - Thingal
: mid October to mid December
Munpani Kaalam - early misty period (evening dew): Maarkali, Thai - Thingal
: mid December to mid February
Pinpani Kaalam - late misty period (morning dew): Maasi, Panguni - Thingal
: mid February to mid April
The beginning of the Ilavenil Kaalam of the Tamils coincides with the beginning of the Sun moving into the Meda Veedu or Rasi, which falls in mid April, and is the time of commencement of the Tamil month of Chitirai.
The dawn of the month of Chithirai is the dawn of the Ilavenil Kaalam, a period of mild sun with much light and less humid wind known to be very soothing and refreshing and was known as "Thentral Kaatru" to Tamils.
This might be the very reason the Tamil Saiva Saint of Tamil Nadu namely the Thirunaavukkarsu Nayanaar of the mid seventh century, equated the pleasure of being at the feet of God Siva - is as good as the "blowing Thentral Kaatru during the extended Ilavenil Kaalam", showing the great delight the Tamils had during the Ilavenil Kaalam.
Being very significant that the age old Tamil New Year is being shifted from April 13th or 14th to January. Does the goverment has thought the significant of changing age old practice followed millions of tamils. It has been understood that present Chief Minister has the way to hurt the feelings of Hindu since he has been the chief Minister of Tmailnadu. He is being praised by the so called great leader Ramadoss, Thirumavalavan, etc., These are the people who say that they will die for TAMIL. Do they understand the age old writings of Great Saints who they proclaim that is ignored in the Temples..is it not the double standard.
What will happen to Tamil Panchangam ? Its a tradition that on Tamil New Year Tamil Panchangam will be read out in public. This has been the following and ritual followed even before the birth Karunanidhi. All of a sudden Goverment of Tamilnadu issued a GO asking the temples to stop reading the Tamil Panchangam on the eve of Tamil New Year. It was sad to see people's feeling being trashed by the present goverment. in spite of this TV channels like Jaya and Vijay had special programs to commerate the Tamil New Year.
“I suspect that those who endorsed the government’s renaming quest must all be DMK supporters. If this government can do this, it can also announce new names for all the 12 months after Periyar, Anna, Stalin, Azhagiri, Kanimozhi and so on,” - political commentator Cho S. Ramaswamy.
April 13 is the Tamil New Year i.e. Chitterai 1. Karunanidhi can not do away with 1,800 years of Tamil high tradition in the name of his allegedly secular Dravidian myth. He is trying to move the New Year to January 14 or Makara Sankranti/Pongal to make it closer to January 1 - the start of the church year. I suspect the matter would now be referred to court because an allegedly secular state can not legislate on the traditional calendar just as it has no right to legislate on the calendar of Islam or Christianity.
The Burmese, Cambodians, Lao, Sinhalese and Thai had adopted the April New Year due to South Indian Pallava influence. It is ironic that so-called Dravidian nationalism under Christian missionary influence now seeks to jettison this to bring the New Year closer to January 1 and the proposed new names for the days of the week and the 12 months are more in synch with Hellenic culture.
Karunanidhi should focus on infrastructure and poverty alleviation, not engage in puerile gimmicks at his senile old age. This would come to haunt the political career of his son who is expected to succeed him.
The circumferance of the eliptical path traced by the Earth having the Sun as the central point - are divided into twelve arcs, and the angular segments traced by each arc measuring 30 degress is called a House (Veedu in Tamil or Rasi in Sanskrit). Thus the earth passes through twelve Houses in an year.
The Tamil Seasonal Significance of the Tamil New Year. We have divided an year in to six seasons based on the climatic conditions in Tamil Nadu. They are namely the,
Ilavenil Kaalam : mild sunny period : Chithirai, Vahasi - Thingal
: mid April to mid June
Muthuvenil Kaalam : intense sunny period : Aani, Aadi - Thingal
: mid June to mid August
Kaar Kaalam : cloudy rainy Period : Aavani, Purataasi - Thingal
: mid August to mid October
Kuthir Kaalam - cold period : Iyppassi, Kaarthihai - Thingal
: mid October to mid December
Munpani Kaalam - early misty period (evening dew): Maarkali, Thai - Thingal
: mid December to mid February
Pinpani Kaalam - late misty period (morning dew): Maasi, Panguni - Thingal
: mid February to mid April
The beginning of the Ilavenil Kaalam of the Tamils coincides with the beginning of the Sun moving into the Meda Veedu or Rasi, which falls in mid April, and is the time of commencement of the Tamil month of Chitirai.
The dawn of the month of Chithirai is the dawn of the Ilavenil Kaalam, a period of mild sun with much light and less humid wind known to be very soothing and refreshing and was known as "Thentral Kaatru" to Tamils.
This might be the very reason the Tamil Saiva Saint of Tamil Nadu namely the Thirunaavukkarsu Nayanaar of the mid seventh century, equated the pleasure of being at the feet of God Siva - is as good as the "blowing Thentral Kaatru during the extended Ilavenil Kaalam", showing the great delight the Tamils had during the Ilavenil Kaalam.
Being very significant that the age old Tamil New Year is being shifted from April 13th or 14th to January. Does the goverment has thought the significant of changing age old practice followed millions of tamils. It has been understood that present Chief Minister has the way to hurt the feelings of Hindu since he has been the chief Minister of Tmailnadu. He is being praised by the so called great leader Ramadoss, Thirumavalavan, etc., These are the people who say that they will die for TAMIL. Do they understand the age old writings of Great Saints who they proclaim that is ignored in the Temples..is it not the double standard.
What will happen to Tamil Panchangam ? Its a tradition that on Tamil New Year Tamil Panchangam will be read out in public. This has been the following and ritual followed even before the birth Karunanidhi. All of a sudden Goverment of Tamilnadu issued a GO asking the temples to stop reading the Tamil Panchangam on the eve of Tamil New Year. It was sad to see people's feeling being trashed by the present goverment. in spite of this TV channels like Jaya and Vijay had special programs to commerate the Tamil New Year.
“I suspect that those who endorsed the government’s renaming quest must all be DMK supporters. If this government can do this, it can also announce new names for all the 12 months after Periyar, Anna, Stalin, Azhagiri, Kanimozhi and so on,” - political commentator Cho S. Ramaswamy.
April 13 is the Tamil New Year i.e. Chitterai 1. Karunanidhi can not do away with 1,800 years of Tamil high tradition in the name of his allegedly secular Dravidian myth. He is trying to move the New Year to January 14 or Makara Sankranti/Pongal to make it closer to January 1 - the start of the church year. I suspect the matter would now be referred to court because an allegedly secular state can not legislate on the traditional calendar just as it has no right to legislate on the calendar of Islam or Christianity.
The Burmese, Cambodians, Lao, Sinhalese and Thai had adopted the April New Year due to South Indian Pallava influence. It is ironic that so-called Dravidian nationalism under Christian missionary influence now seeks to jettison this to bring the New Year closer to January 1 and the proposed new names for the days of the week and the 12 months are more in synch with Hellenic culture.
Karunanidhi should focus on infrastructure and poverty alleviation, not engage in puerile gimmicks at his senile old age. This would come to haunt the political career of his son who is expected to succeed him.
Chennai "Hoarding Free City"
Recent Supreme Court order makes the begining of removing all hoarding in the Chennai City premises. On April 10th while going from Adyar to Teynampet saw lot of people moving around the Hoardings. Massive hoarding ad's were being removed. I though that since Times of India is having its inaguaral issue so it is going for massive ad campaign. But the reality was all the Hoarding were coming down.
And today the Large hoarding on the Kotturpuram Bridge, Teynampet signal, Mount Road are being removed and Gas cutters are being used to remove the massive steel structure. The beauty of Chennai behind the Hoarding is visible now.
Wonder how long this will go on..because the Hoarding industry is worth around INR 500 million. Will the Hoarding lobby press for the change in the act. We have to wait and see..
And today the Large hoarding on the Kotturpuram Bridge, Teynampet signal, Mount Road are being removed and Gas cutters are being used to remove the massive steel structure. The beauty of Chennai behind the Hoarding is visible now.
Wonder how long this will go on..because the Hoarding industry is worth around INR 500 million. Will the Hoarding lobby press for the change in the act. We have to wait and see..
Friday, March 7, 2008
Asbestos Waiting Timebome to Explode
What is Asbestos ?
Asbestos is fibrous form of naturally found minerals. There are several types of asbestos but most commonly used are crysotile, crocidolite and amosite asbestos that have different colors and physical appearances but very similar characteristics and effects. Due to its chemical and physical stability asbestos has been widely used until recent in most of European countries as heat and thermal insulation materials and is still wide spread.
Why it is Dangerous?
Asbestos fibers are dangerous when they are dispersed in air and could be inhaled. Asbestos are recognized as class 1 carcinogen (its cancer causing ability is scientifically proven). When encountering the lungs asbestos fibers could cause diseases like asbestos (scarring of the lung tissue), lung cancer and mesothelioma (cancer of the pleura). It is estimated that asbestos is responsible for more than 70,000 death across global annually. There is a clear scientific consensus internationally that asbestos, in all its forms, and even at low doses, is a proven human carcinogen.
Asbestos Ban
For well over a century asbestos was one of the material most widely used in industries as diverse as construction, road building, engineering or shipbuilding. Its fire resistant property caused it to be used on a massive scale, with manufacture and use peaking in the 1970. workers exposed to asbestos are not only those employed in the industries which mine, prepare, process and use the product but also those in jobs where they are likely to handle materials that contain asbestos – construction and civil engineering workers, garage mechanics, plumber, for example.
The well know carcinogen has killed hundreds of thousands of people. For most of the illnesses it causes, especially mesothelioma, there is still no effective medical treatment. Asbestos may have seemed an economically profitable commodity throughout the 20th century, but in addition to this devastating cost in human lives, it is now proving very costly in term of compensatory payouts to its victims which is costing the governments in the Western world and in Japan Billions of dollars.
There is no such thing as “Good” asbestos. All form of asbestos are harm full.
World production reached its highest level in 1975 at over 5 million tones. It is still around 2 million tones a year now, most of the asbestos produced (more than 90%) being chrysotile. The most important areas of asbestos use have traditionally been, and in many countries still are, in the manufacture of asbestos cement, sprayed coat for fire protection, asbestos cement pipes, industrial and domestic floor covering, brake lining and clutch assembly in the automotive industry and in form of paints, coating and fillers.
In some industrialized countries the manufacture and use of asbestos and its derivates in now prohibited, or at least their use is extremely limited. But people are still exposed, and will continue to be exposed for many years to come, both at work and in the home, because asbestos –containing materials are still in place in existing structure. Those at risk are predominantly specialists working in demolition, asbestos removal and maintenance (in other words, those concerned with all types of construction finishes and fittings).
In most countries, however asbestos is not banned. So high exposures to asbestos fiber dust continue, putting a lot of people at huge risk. And many of these countries not only adults but also young adolescents and even children are already heavily exposed in a range of working environment, increasing their risk of developing an asbestos –related illness and of developing it earlier.
HEALTH EFFECTS OF ASBESTOS
Mechanisms of action
Asbestos fibres break down into fibrils and are inhaled in the form of very fine dust that penetrates deep into the lungs. The longer and thinner these fibrs are, the harder it is for the body to eliminate them. The body’s defence mechanisms cannot cope, and the physico-chemical properties of the fibres trapped within the respiratory system mean that they cannot be broken down and destroyed. They then very gradually cause inflammation and then fibrosis of the lung tissue (asbestosis) or the membrane-the pleura-which covers the lungs and may cause a variety of pleural conditions. On contact with the lining of the bronchi they can interface with cell division and, after a lengthy latency period, cause cancerous changes leading to a lung tumour. The risk is exacerbated if there is simultaneous exposure to other carcinogenic agents. Certain fibres may migrate outside the pleural cavity, where they evoke localized fibrosis (pleural plaques) or cancer of the pleura (mesothelioma).
The most dangerous fibres are those which are long (more than 5 μm) and thin (less than 3 μm), with a length –to-diameter ratio greater than 3:1. However, whilst the likelihood of developing an illness depends very largely on the size and natural of the asbestos fibres, and thus varies according to the type of asbestos concerned…
Non-malignant respiratory diseases caused by asbestos
Pulmonary fibrosis (asbestosis)
The disease is triggered by heavy exposure to asbestos fibres, over a variable length of time. The latency period between exposure and the onset of disease is usually 10 to 20 years or more, and the higher the exposure, the shorter the latency period will be. The symptom of asnestosis is breathlessness, which may progress to respiratory and cardiac insuffiency. There is no specific treatment, apart from alleviation of the symptoms. Patients with asbestosis are at higher risk than others of developing lung cancer, and that risk is significantly higher if they smoke.
Benign pleural conditions
Asbestos fibres migrate very readily from the lung to the pleura, where they cause a range of lesions: pleural plaques, pleurisy, diffuse pleural fibrosis. Pleural plaques are areas of fibrosis, with pleural thickening and sometimes calcification. Unlike asbestosis, these benign pleural plaques do not in general cause problems. They are usually identified on a chest X-ray. Regarded as a , marker’ of asbestos exposure, they are not a predictor of mesothelioma.
Asbestos-related cancers
Lung Cancer
High and protracted exposure to asbestos fibres increases the risk of developing bronchopulmonary cancer, even where these is no asbestosis. There is clearly a dose-effect relationship here, but the threshold for cancer induction cannot be identified. Exposure to other carcinogens, especially tobacco smoke, exacerbates the risk. At the same level of exposure, the risk to smokers is ten times that of non-smokers. Latency periods between exposure to asbestos and the onset of pathological symptoms are on average 15-20 years, and may be as long as 30 years. The disease and its progression have no specificity compared with other cancers of the lung. The same applies to the options for treating it, which vary depending on the nature of the tumour, its stage and site. Whilst the prognosis is still often very poor, lung cancer can be cured, especially if it is diagnosed early.
Pleural mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a primitive cancer of the pleura (and very rarely of the peritoneum and pericardium). This particularly malignant tumour is highly specific for exposure to asbestos. Onset typically follows a latency period of 20-40 years. Unlike lung cancer it may be triggered by even very low-level and brief exposures. There is no link to smoking. Chest pain, cough and breathlessness are the principal symptoms. The prognosis for this cancer is very poor and no treatment has yet proved effective, though therapeutic are ongoing.
Other cancers
Scientific writing has looked at other cancer sites for a possible link with asbestos exposure:
•Throat cancer, recognized as an occupational disease in some European countries;
•Digestive cancers;
•Urogenital cancers.
Medical Surveillance
Although most asbestos-related illnesses are hard to treat and that for most of them there is no cure, it is important that they are detected as early as possible both from a social and medical point of view.
Medical surveillance of all exposed workers is imperative and monitoring must continue even a after exposure has ceased, in view of the lengthy latency periods for these diseases (up to 30 or even 40 years).
Monitoring must ideally be organized using a standardized procedure, in such a way that everyone can have access to it, even when he or she stops work or moves to a new employer. It must on no account entail a loss of earnings and it must be provided free of charge to the individuals concerned. Persons exposed must be informed that they need to be monitored.
Medical surveillance entails check-ups, with an analysis of the person’s occupational and medical history, respiratory function tests and a chest X-ray. These check-ups are usually offered every one to three years. Lung tumours can be detected earlier using a scanner, if this chest imaging equipment is available, and in some cases this extends the patient’s expected life expectancy. But scans involve a higher level of radiation exposure that conventional radiology. So when deciding what kinds of radiological investigations to perform, besides the technical means that are available, the physician needs to take due account of the risk factors of age, latency period, duration or level of exposure, smoking habit and the expected social and medical benefits.
The cost of asbestos-related diseases
Compensation
Systems of insurance in the world vary very widely, and this has a bearing on the level of costs which the patient is able to recover.
In principle there are three basic possibilities
1)The Worker bears the cost himself.
2)The cost is borne by the employer. He is responsible for the illness because he caused the worker to be exposed to asbestos. In some European countries a state or private-sector insurance scheme covers these costs for the employer.
3)The state is responsible for compensation.
Compensation covers the medical costs of these illnesses, which can be extremely high, plus financial compensation for loss of income and/or benefits for the person’s dependants of (s)he should die.
The scale of this reimbursement and its economic impact depend both on the quantities of asbestos used in a given country and above all on the social security provisions in place for workers. It should be noted however that disparities remain when it comes to certain types of illness (e.g. mesothelioma, asbestos – included lung cancers and asbestosis) being recognized as occupational diseases.
The costs of compensation may be so high that they produce a serious imbalance in some countries’ systems of compensation for occupational diseases, force the state to pay financial compensation or cause some companies to go bankrupt.By making future generations bear the responsibility for compensating victims and the financial burden of looking after them.
In Germany, for example, the total cost of meeting victims’ medical expenses and paying financial compensation to victims and their dependants has already reached € 290 million. In order to deal with this problem the French Government has had to put in a place a specific structure- in the Netherlands they have done something similar- which is publicly funded out of the social security and the national budget, to reimburse victims and to meet the cost of early retirement by victims or persons formerly employed in establishments on record as having used asbestos.
Liability
In many countries workers who contract asbestos-related illnesses have the right to sue their employers for costs and compensation. In some specific cases these compensation claims can be for enormous sums and may place the very survival of the company in doubt. In the USA, 2,000 companies are currently the target of compensation claims.
Against this background groupings have been formed to organize victims’ bids for compensation, uphold their interests, and in particular to improve the pay-out they are likely to get. Very often these groups advise victims to bring personal lawsuits against their employer on the grounds that he failed to take appropriate protective measures, even though the risk was known and such measures were required under national law. These lawsuits have become commonplace and the victims usually win, obtaining financial compensation from the company.
Cases are also increasingly brought against the state, which is accused of being too slow to introduce laws to safeguard the health of workers or the general public against asbestos, even though the risks were known to be serious and were confirmed by international health organizations.
Asbestos in place: managing the risks
Regardless of any decision to ban asbestos, throught needs to be given to asbestos-containing materials which are already in place. Working with these materials or removing them creates risks which have to be properly managed.
The risks here are risks to public health, and their scale and urgency are directly proportional to the volume and age of the materials in place. Removal and disposal of asbestos also means risks to the persons carrying out these operations and potentially for persons in the victinity of anything should go wrong.
What kind of measures are needed, and how urgently, depends on how extersively fibres are being released into the air, their initial form (bonded or friable) and the condition of the materials concerned, which must be inspected regularly.
These last two options are temporary solutions, however, only possible when the level of risk permits. They take account of the constraints imposed by the need to dispose of large quantities of hazardous materials (often tens of millions of tones), the time available to do it and the cost of doing it.
Removal of asbestos in place
Asbestos removal requires rigorous technical procedures. It is physically hard work, not to say exhausting. Friable asbestos is so hazardous that specific methods have to be used to remove it or to manage the risk, sustainable and without exposing people afresh, that fibres may be released from asbestos which remains in place. For this reason there are contractors who specialize in asbestos removal, a task which must only be undertaken by highly speacialized technical personnel.
There are relatively few of these and they constitute a high-risk group. The ready propensity of the fibres to disperse in the air means that the work area has to be kept totally segregated (sealed to exclude the finest dust and maintained at negative pressure (rigorously airtight) and workers shall wear protective equipment (rigorously airtight overall, respirators).
These removal operations generate waste which is almost always heavy and bulky, and thus hazardous on that count too. It needs to be safely and durably airtight-packaged. Precautions are needed when this waste is handled, transported, destroyed or permanently disposed of a dedicated landfill sites.
To ensure that persons carrying out asbestos removal operations are protected, the work must not be done in an hoc manner. There must at the very least be specific instructions, sealed bags, also specifically for asbestos waste, and disposal sites must be demarcated and secured at all times.
Maintenance Work
Many types of work may bring workers into contact with asbestos. Many of these will entail construction finished and fittings. Contractors have to assess whether premises they will work in contain asbestos and inform workers of the risks in their work zone. Safety and health measures must be taken accordingly.
The need for a ban
Every country in the world has to deal with this global scourge, and none can plead ignorance of it. And yet only forty countries have so far banned asbestos or are about to ban it.
Better understanding of the health risks, especially in the industrialized countries, had led to a decline in world consumption of asbestos during the 1980s and 1990s. But in the last few years consumption has begun to rise again. This may be due in particular to the fact that countries experiencing rapid growth are expanding their economies by strengthening their asbestos mining or processing industries and finding new markets.
Arguments against a ban
The arguments put forward against a ban on asbestos are essentially economy. They range from job losses to the cost of using substitute products. One argument used against a ban on all types of asbestos is that chrysotile (white asbestos) is supposedly less dangerous, less carcinogenic, than the other types, despite tha fact that the scientific world is unanimous that a distinction in favour of chrysotile should no longer longer be made.
According to the WHO no threshold has been identified below which asbestos dust does not constitute a cancer risk.
Arguments in favour of a comprehensive ban
These arguments are based primarily on health and humanitarian considerations. They point out that over the longer term asbestos-related disease and mortality have declined (see chapter 2). They are economic too, emphasizing the devastating consequences of the cost of these illnesses (see chapters 2 and 3). Predictions of asbestos-related morbidity and mortality in the decades ahead may sometimes be polemical, but they show clearly that the resulting cost is guaranteed to rise dramatically and that future generations will have difficulty meeting it.
A few Figures:
In Japan, asbestos has so for cost up to 27 billion yen. It is predicted that Japanese deaths from malignant mesothelioma will be 49 times higher during the next 40 years than in the 1990s. Latest statistics of the UK government revealed that every year 3 500 persons die from past exposure to asbestos. Currently, there are 10,000 asbestos-related deaths every year in the US. In Pakistan, between 1995-2003, 601 cases of mesothelioma were diagnosed only in the North West Frontier Province.
Epidemiologists predict that by 2023, more than 45,000 Australians will have died from asbestos malignancies (mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer).Although the use of asbestos was banned in Sweden 30 Years ago, asbestos-related diseases kill currently 2 to 3 times as many workers as fatal occupational accidents.
Experience shows very clearly that the longer we procrastinate, the worse the result will be. It is now an acknowledged fact that asbestos is truly a time bomb waiting to explode.
For more information visit www.bwint.org
Asbestos is fibrous form of naturally found minerals. There are several types of asbestos but most commonly used are crysotile, crocidolite and amosite asbestos that have different colors and physical appearances but very similar characteristics and effects. Due to its chemical and physical stability asbestos has been widely used until recent in most of European countries as heat and thermal insulation materials and is still wide spread.
Why it is Dangerous?
Asbestos fibers are dangerous when they are dispersed in air and could be inhaled. Asbestos are recognized as class 1 carcinogen (its cancer causing ability is scientifically proven). When encountering the lungs asbestos fibers could cause diseases like asbestos (scarring of the lung tissue), lung cancer and mesothelioma (cancer of the pleura). It is estimated that asbestos is responsible for more than 70,000 death across global annually. There is a clear scientific consensus internationally that asbestos, in all its forms, and even at low doses, is a proven human carcinogen.
Asbestos Ban
For well over a century asbestos was one of the material most widely used in industries as diverse as construction, road building, engineering or shipbuilding. Its fire resistant property caused it to be used on a massive scale, with manufacture and use peaking in the 1970. workers exposed to asbestos are not only those employed in the industries which mine, prepare, process and use the product but also those in jobs where they are likely to handle materials that contain asbestos – construction and civil engineering workers, garage mechanics, plumber, for example.
The well know carcinogen has killed hundreds of thousands of people. For most of the illnesses it causes, especially mesothelioma, there is still no effective medical treatment. Asbestos may have seemed an economically profitable commodity throughout the 20th century, but in addition to this devastating cost in human lives, it is now proving very costly in term of compensatory payouts to its victims which is costing the governments in the Western world and in Japan Billions of dollars.
There is no such thing as “Good” asbestos. All form of asbestos are harm full.
World production reached its highest level in 1975 at over 5 million tones. It is still around 2 million tones a year now, most of the asbestos produced (more than 90%) being chrysotile. The most important areas of asbestos use have traditionally been, and in many countries still are, in the manufacture of asbestos cement, sprayed coat for fire protection, asbestos cement pipes, industrial and domestic floor covering, brake lining and clutch assembly in the automotive industry and in form of paints, coating and fillers.
In some industrialized countries the manufacture and use of asbestos and its derivates in now prohibited, or at least their use is extremely limited. But people are still exposed, and will continue to be exposed for many years to come, both at work and in the home, because asbestos –containing materials are still in place in existing structure. Those at risk are predominantly specialists working in demolition, asbestos removal and maintenance (in other words, those concerned with all types of construction finishes and fittings).
In most countries, however asbestos is not banned. So high exposures to asbestos fiber dust continue, putting a lot of people at huge risk. And many of these countries not only adults but also young adolescents and even children are already heavily exposed in a range of working environment, increasing their risk of developing an asbestos –related illness and of developing it earlier.
HEALTH EFFECTS OF ASBESTOS
Mechanisms of action
Asbestos fibres break down into fibrils and are inhaled in the form of very fine dust that penetrates deep into the lungs. The longer and thinner these fibrs are, the harder it is for the body to eliminate them. The body’s defence mechanisms cannot cope, and the physico-chemical properties of the fibres trapped within the respiratory system mean that they cannot be broken down and destroyed. They then very gradually cause inflammation and then fibrosis of the lung tissue (asbestosis) or the membrane-the pleura-which covers the lungs and may cause a variety of pleural conditions. On contact with the lining of the bronchi they can interface with cell division and, after a lengthy latency period, cause cancerous changes leading to a lung tumour. The risk is exacerbated if there is simultaneous exposure to other carcinogenic agents. Certain fibres may migrate outside the pleural cavity, where they evoke localized fibrosis (pleural plaques) or cancer of the pleura (mesothelioma).
The most dangerous fibres are those which are long (more than 5 μm) and thin (less than 3 μm), with a length –to-diameter ratio greater than 3:1. However, whilst the likelihood of developing an illness depends very largely on the size and natural of the asbestos fibres, and thus varies according to the type of asbestos concerned…
Non-malignant respiratory diseases caused by asbestos
Pulmonary fibrosis (asbestosis)
The disease is triggered by heavy exposure to asbestos fibres, over a variable length of time. The latency period between exposure and the onset of disease is usually 10 to 20 years or more, and the higher the exposure, the shorter the latency period will be. The symptom of asnestosis is breathlessness, which may progress to respiratory and cardiac insuffiency. There is no specific treatment, apart from alleviation of the symptoms. Patients with asbestosis are at higher risk than others of developing lung cancer, and that risk is significantly higher if they smoke.
Benign pleural conditions
Asbestos fibres migrate very readily from the lung to the pleura, where they cause a range of lesions: pleural plaques, pleurisy, diffuse pleural fibrosis. Pleural plaques are areas of fibrosis, with pleural thickening and sometimes calcification. Unlike asbestosis, these benign pleural plaques do not in general cause problems. They are usually identified on a chest X-ray. Regarded as a , marker’ of asbestos exposure, they are not a predictor of mesothelioma.
Asbestos-related cancers
Lung Cancer
High and protracted exposure to asbestos fibres increases the risk of developing bronchopulmonary cancer, even where these is no asbestosis. There is clearly a dose-effect relationship here, but the threshold for cancer induction cannot be identified. Exposure to other carcinogens, especially tobacco smoke, exacerbates the risk. At the same level of exposure, the risk to smokers is ten times that of non-smokers. Latency periods between exposure to asbestos and the onset of pathological symptoms are on average 15-20 years, and may be as long as 30 years. The disease and its progression have no specificity compared with other cancers of the lung. The same applies to the options for treating it, which vary depending on the nature of the tumour, its stage and site. Whilst the prognosis is still often very poor, lung cancer can be cured, especially if it is diagnosed early.
Pleural mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a primitive cancer of the pleura (and very rarely of the peritoneum and pericardium). This particularly malignant tumour is highly specific for exposure to asbestos. Onset typically follows a latency period of 20-40 years. Unlike lung cancer it may be triggered by even very low-level and brief exposures. There is no link to smoking. Chest pain, cough and breathlessness are the principal symptoms. The prognosis for this cancer is very poor and no treatment has yet proved effective, though therapeutic are ongoing.
Other cancers
Scientific writing has looked at other cancer sites for a possible link with asbestos exposure:
•Throat cancer, recognized as an occupational disease in some European countries;
•Digestive cancers;
•Urogenital cancers.
Medical Surveillance
Although most asbestos-related illnesses are hard to treat and that for most of them there is no cure, it is important that they are detected as early as possible both from a social and medical point of view.
Medical surveillance of all exposed workers is imperative and monitoring must continue even a after exposure has ceased, in view of the lengthy latency periods for these diseases (up to 30 or even 40 years).
Monitoring must ideally be organized using a standardized procedure, in such a way that everyone can have access to it, even when he or she stops work or moves to a new employer. It must on no account entail a loss of earnings and it must be provided free of charge to the individuals concerned. Persons exposed must be informed that they need to be monitored.
Medical surveillance entails check-ups, with an analysis of the person’s occupational and medical history, respiratory function tests and a chest X-ray. These check-ups are usually offered every one to three years. Lung tumours can be detected earlier using a scanner, if this chest imaging equipment is available, and in some cases this extends the patient’s expected life expectancy. But scans involve a higher level of radiation exposure that conventional radiology. So when deciding what kinds of radiological investigations to perform, besides the technical means that are available, the physician needs to take due account of the risk factors of age, latency period, duration or level of exposure, smoking habit and the expected social and medical benefits.
The cost of asbestos-related diseases
Compensation
Systems of insurance in the world vary very widely, and this has a bearing on the level of costs which the patient is able to recover.
In principle there are three basic possibilities
1)The Worker bears the cost himself.
2)The cost is borne by the employer. He is responsible for the illness because he caused the worker to be exposed to asbestos. In some European countries a state or private-sector insurance scheme covers these costs for the employer.
3)The state is responsible for compensation.
Compensation covers the medical costs of these illnesses, which can be extremely high, plus financial compensation for loss of income and/or benefits for the person’s dependants of (s)he should die.
The scale of this reimbursement and its economic impact depend both on the quantities of asbestos used in a given country and above all on the social security provisions in place for workers. It should be noted however that disparities remain when it comes to certain types of illness (e.g. mesothelioma, asbestos – included lung cancers and asbestosis) being recognized as occupational diseases.
The costs of compensation may be so high that they produce a serious imbalance in some countries’ systems of compensation for occupational diseases, force the state to pay financial compensation or cause some companies to go bankrupt.By making future generations bear the responsibility for compensating victims and the financial burden of looking after them.
In Germany, for example, the total cost of meeting victims’ medical expenses and paying financial compensation to victims and their dependants has already reached € 290 million. In order to deal with this problem the French Government has had to put in a place a specific structure- in the Netherlands they have done something similar- which is publicly funded out of the social security and the national budget, to reimburse victims and to meet the cost of early retirement by victims or persons formerly employed in establishments on record as having used asbestos.
Liability
In many countries workers who contract asbestos-related illnesses have the right to sue their employers for costs and compensation. In some specific cases these compensation claims can be for enormous sums and may place the very survival of the company in doubt. In the USA, 2,000 companies are currently the target of compensation claims.
Against this background groupings have been formed to organize victims’ bids for compensation, uphold their interests, and in particular to improve the pay-out they are likely to get. Very often these groups advise victims to bring personal lawsuits against their employer on the grounds that he failed to take appropriate protective measures, even though the risk was known and such measures were required under national law. These lawsuits have become commonplace and the victims usually win, obtaining financial compensation from the company.
Cases are also increasingly brought against the state, which is accused of being too slow to introduce laws to safeguard the health of workers or the general public against asbestos, even though the risks were known to be serious and were confirmed by international health organizations.
Asbestos in place: managing the risks
Regardless of any decision to ban asbestos, throught needs to be given to asbestos-containing materials which are already in place. Working with these materials or removing them creates risks which have to be properly managed.
The risks here are risks to public health, and their scale and urgency are directly proportional to the volume and age of the materials in place. Removal and disposal of asbestos also means risks to the persons carrying out these operations and potentially for persons in the victinity of anything should go wrong.
What kind of measures are needed, and how urgently, depends on how extersively fibres are being released into the air, their initial form (bonded or friable) and the condition of the materials concerned, which must be inspected regularly.
These last two options are temporary solutions, however, only possible when the level of risk permits. They take account of the constraints imposed by the need to dispose of large quantities of hazardous materials (often tens of millions of tones), the time available to do it and the cost of doing it.
Removal of asbestos in place
Asbestos removal requires rigorous technical procedures. It is physically hard work, not to say exhausting. Friable asbestos is so hazardous that specific methods have to be used to remove it or to manage the risk, sustainable and without exposing people afresh, that fibres may be released from asbestos which remains in place. For this reason there are contractors who specialize in asbestos removal, a task which must only be undertaken by highly speacialized technical personnel.
There are relatively few of these and they constitute a high-risk group. The ready propensity of the fibres to disperse in the air means that the work area has to be kept totally segregated (sealed to exclude the finest dust and maintained at negative pressure (rigorously airtight) and workers shall wear protective equipment (rigorously airtight overall, respirators).
These removal operations generate waste which is almost always heavy and bulky, and thus hazardous on that count too. It needs to be safely and durably airtight-packaged. Precautions are needed when this waste is handled, transported, destroyed or permanently disposed of a dedicated landfill sites.
To ensure that persons carrying out asbestos removal operations are protected, the work must not be done in an hoc manner. There must at the very least be specific instructions, sealed bags, also specifically for asbestos waste, and disposal sites must be demarcated and secured at all times.
Maintenance Work
Many types of work may bring workers into contact with asbestos. Many of these will entail construction finished and fittings. Contractors have to assess whether premises they will work in contain asbestos and inform workers of the risks in their work zone. Safety and health measures must be taken accordingly.
The need for a ban
Every country in the world has to deal with this global scourge, and none can plead ignorance of it. And yet only forty countries have so far banned asbestos or are about to ban it.
Better understanding of the health risks, especially in the industrialized countries, had led to a decline in world consumption of asbestos during the 1980s and 1990s. But in the last few years consumption has begun to rise again. This may be due in particular to the fact that countries experiencing rapid growth are expanding their economies by strengthening their asbestos mining or processing industries and finding new markets.
Arguments against a ban
The arguments put forward against a ban on asbestos are essentially economy. They range from job losses to the cost of using substitute products. One argument used against a ban on all types of asbestos is that chrysotile (white asbestos) is supposedly less dangerous, less carcinogenic, than the other types, despite tha fact that the scientific world is unanimous that a distinction in favour of chrysotile should no longer longer be made.
According to the WHO no threshold has been identified below which asbestos dust does not constitute a cancer risk.
Arguments in favour of a comprehensive ban
These arguments are based primarily on health and humanitarian considerations. They point out that over the longer term asbestos-related disease and mortality have declined (see chapter 2). They are economic too, emphasizing the devastating consequences of the cost of these illnesses (see chapters 2 and 3). Predictions of asbestos-related morbidity and mortality in the decades ahead may sometimes be polemical, but they show clearly that the resulting cost is guaranteed to rise dramatically and that future generations will have difficulty meeting it.
A few Figures:
In Japan, asbestos has so for cost up to 27 billion yen. It is predicted that Japanese deaths from malignant mesothelioma will be 49 times higher during the next 40 years than in the 1990s. Latest statistics of the UK government revealed that every year 3 500 persons die from past exposure to asbestos. Currently, there are 10,000 asbestos-related deaths every year in the US. In Pakistan, between 1995-2003, 601 cases of mesothelioma were diagnosed only in the North West Frontier Province.
Epidemiologists predict that by 2023, more than 45,000 Australians will have died from asbestos malignancies (mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer).Although the use of asbestos was banned in Sweden 30 Years ago, asbestos-related diseases kill currently 2 to 3 times as many workers as fatal occupational accidents.
Experience shows very clearly that the longer we procrastinate, the worse the result will be. It is now an acknowledged fact that asbestos is truly a time bomb waiting to explode.
For more information visit www.bwint.org
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Tamilnadu Construction and Unorganized Workers Federation
On June 17th 2007 a new kind of coming together happend in Chennai. It was the day were seven trade unions affliated to Building and Wood Workers Interational (BWI-www.bwint.org) came together for the bring better social security to the Construction & Allied Workers as well as the Unorgnaized workers. Seven Unions- AIKTMS, INRLF,RWO,SGEU,UNIFRONT,TMKTS and TMKTMS.
On the whole these seven trade unions represented more than 5 lac workers in the state of Tamilnadu. The Federation was inaguarated by the State Minister for Labour Welfare Thiru.Th.Mo.Anbarasan. The function was graced by Mr.G.Kalan, General Secretary, Tamilnadu INTUC, Mr.R.Krishnasami, President, Tamilnadu Congress Committee, Mr.Vishnu Prasad, MLA, Mr.Rama.Suganthan.
Speaking on the occassion the National Coorinator of ILO Sister.Susamma Varghees wished that this federation work for the better and faster availbilty of social security for the construction , unorgnaized and rural workers. She also hinted this federation not to look in tamilnadu alone but also to consolidate other unions in whole of India.
Mr.Rajeev Sharma, Project Director, BWI, Delhi speaking on the occassion that this federation will indeed work not only on the Social Security but also on the Skill Training and Upgradtion of the construction workers in the State.
Mr.Nallamuthu, General Secretary, SGEU asked the workers to be more vigilant in working in the site and asked the state goverment to immplement and monitor the Site Safety Rules framed by the Goverment.
Mr.Pon.Kumar, General Secretary, TMKTMS asked the workers to be more vigilant in identifying the culprints who act as the trade union once in a blue moon and cheats the workers in enrolling in the welfare boards. He also wanted the goverment to bring in a system were by the enrollment are done by the Goverment approved Trade Unions just like in orgnaized sector their by eliminating the bogus trade unions.
Mr.Paneer Selvam, General Secretary, AIKTMS asked the Goverment to provide same welfare schemes when the worker is involoved in an accident or dies while working in an another state. He wanted the goverment to bring in mass awarness on using Asbestos and proceed in a Phased Manner to Ban Asbestos completely.
In the Meeting Mr.Paneer Selvam announced the Office Bearers for the federaion
1 Mr.Paneer Selvam - President
2.Mr.Vazahapadi R.Karnan - General Secretary
3.Mr.V.K.Nallamuthu - Vice President
4.Mr.A.Ram - Vice President
5.Mr.K.M.Rathnam - Secretary
6.Mr.S.Subhu - Secretary
7.Mr.Pon Kumar - Executive Committee Member
Thiru.Th.Mo.Anbarasan, Minister of Labour assured the participants that goverment will take actions on what the speakers have said and also made detail presentation on the goverment welfare board schemes that has been distributed by his goverment. He also said that Ministry is taking steps to issue counter slip while the workers files for his claims. He assured that the his ministry will take all steps in bringing a Safe and Secure working environment for Workers.
On the whole these seven trade unions represented more than 5 lac workers in the state of Tamilnadu. The Federation was inaguarated by the State Minister for Labour Welfare Thiru.Th.Mo.Anbarasan. The function was graced by Mr.G.Kalan, General Secretary, Tamilnadu INTUC, Mr.R.Krishnasami, President, Tamilnadu Congress Committee, Mr.Vishnu Prasad, MLA, Mr.Rama.Suganthan.
Speaking on the occassion the National Coorinator of ILO Sister.Susamma Varghees wished that this federation work for the better and faster availbilty of social security for the construction , unorgnaized and rural workers. She also hinted this federation not to look in tamilnadu alone but also to consolidate other unions in whole of India.
Mr.Rajeev Sharma, Project Director, BWI, Delhi speaking on the occassion that this federation will indeed work not only on the Social Security but also on the Skill Training and Upgradtion of the construction workers in the State.
Mr.Nallamuthu, General Secretary, SGEU asked the workers to be more vigilant in working in the site and asked the state goverment to immplement and monitor the Site Safety Rules framed by the Goverment.
Mr.Pon.Kumar, General Secretary, TMKTMS asked the workers to be more vigilant in identifying the culprints who act as the trade union once in a blue moon and cheats the workers in enrolling in the welfare boards. He also wanted the goverment to bring in a system were by the enrollment are done by the Goverment approved Trade Unions just like in orgnaized sector their by eliminating the bogus trade unions.
Mr.Paneer Selvam, General Secretary, AIKTMS asked the Goverment to provide same welfare schemes when the worker is involoved in an accident or dies while working in an another state. He wanted the goverment to bring in mass awarness on using Asbestos and proceed in a Phased Manner to Ban Asbestos completely.
In the Meeting Mr.Paneer Selvam announced the Office Bearers for the federaion
1 Mr.Paneer Selvam - President
2.Mr.Vazahapadi R.Karnan - General Secretary
3.Mr.V.K.Nallamuthu - Vice President
4.Mr.A.Ram - Vice President
5.Mr.K.M.Rathnam - Secretary
6.Mr.S.Subhu - Secretary
7.Mr.Pon Kumar - Executive Committee Member
Thiru.Th.Mo.Anbarasan, Minister of Labour assured the participants that goverment will take actions on what the speakers have said and also made detail presentation on the goverment welfare board schemes that has been distributed by his goverment. He also said that Ministry is taking steps to issue counter slip while the workers files for his claims. He assured that the his ministry will take all steps in bringing a Safe and Secure working environment for Workers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
