Expressing concern over workers' health and safety, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) threw its full support behind efforts to use asbestos. The DOLE pushed for the inclusion of asbestos in the list of chemicals identified as hazardous to both health and environment. “Our call against the use of asbestos is in line with the country’s position in the upcoming 5th Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade in Geneva, Switzerland," Acting Labor Secretary Danilo Cruz said in a news article on the DOLE website. Cruz said asbestos should be in the list of chemicals and pesticides that will be severely restricted or banned due to the health and environmental risks they pose. Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring fibrous serpentine minerals that have been used in building materials and consumer goods. There are three main types of asbestos:
chrysotile (white); amosite (brown), and crucidolite (blue). “The DOLE, through the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC), fully supports the country’s stand against asbestos use, hence, it vies for its inclusion in the Convention’s list of chemicals for doable restriction and/or ban. Given such legal embargo at a global level, we could avert the proliferation of asbestos-related diseases in all workplaces," Cruz said. The Philippines is one of the signatories to the Rotterdam Convention, an international treaty designed to protect developing nations from toxic trade and hazardous chemical use. In the Convention’s fifth meeting on June 20 to 24 this year in Geneva, the inclusion of asbestos in the Convention’s "watch list" of hazardous chemicals will be discussed. Local measures vs. asbestos The DOLE said in the Philippines an inter-agency government body — the National Program for the Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases (NPEAD) — will implement strategies for the elimination of asbestos-related diseases in the country. The following agencies will comprise the NPEAD: the DOLE's Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC); the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); the Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Science and Technology (DOST). As one of the prime movers of the NPEAD, the DOLE will continue its advocacy to ensure better, safer, and sustainable condition in all workplaces, Cruz said. “The DOLE commits itself to ensure workers’ safety and to heighten an extensive “zero tolerance" against asbestos in all of the country’s workplaces," he added. To help develop the NPEAD, Cruz said the OSHC has initiated consultations with concerned agencies for building a profile of asbestos use in the country. In the recent national observance of the International Workers Memorial Day, workers' groups handed over the ‘Statement/Call to Action on Asbestos’ to DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. These groups were: the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP); the Building and Woodworkers International (BWI), and the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) Potent carcinogen International scientific organizations including the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), World Health Organization (WHO), and International Labor Office (ILO) classified all forms of asbestos as potent carcinogen – a deliberate heath hazard. "With over 4,000 to 6,000 metric tons of highly hazardous asbestos and Asbestos-Containing Materials (ACMs) imported every year, thousands of Filipino workers and their families are exposed to the perils of asbestos," the DOLE said. Embedded in consumer and industrial goods such as fiber cement boards, packaging and construction mastics and materials, gaskets, ceiling/floor tiles and pipes, friction and mechanical parts, such as brakes and clutch linings in motor vehicles, the silent killer dust exists in almost all public structures. The World Health Organization estimates 125 million workers worldwide are exposed to asbestos in their workplaces. This translates to 107,000 workers dying each year to asbestos-related diseases. - VVP, GMA News 
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