White asbestos safe, Russia miner insists

Uran Kleosakul, marketing director of Oranvanich Co, producer of Oranit roofing tiles, said during a press visit to Orenburg Minerals’ chrysotile mine in Yasny, southern Russia, last week that the company had imported chrysotile, or white asbestos, for five years as a material for producing its roofing tiles. It imports about 20,000-30,000 tonnes of the mineral a year.

Chrysotile helps make roofing tiles more durable as well as resistant to heat and humidity. The ore is also cheaper than other substitute materials. No research institutions have proved that chrysotile can cause lung cancer, he said.

"There are two types of asbestos in the world: amphibole and chrysotile.

There is proof that some amphibole types cause lung cancer. But chrysotile is not dangerous because we can get rid of it from the body if we take a breath of air contaminated with chrysotile," he said.

Orenburg Minerals’ chrysotile mine is 2,600 metres long, 1,400 metres wide and 200 metres deep. The open mine has operated since 1980. It has the capacity to produce about 500,000 tonnes of white asbestos a year, of which 70 per cent is exported to 24 countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and India.

Major products that use white asbestos as a main material are roofing, floor, ceiling and wall tiles, as well as water drains and brake linings.

Andrey Golm, director of Orenburg Minerals, said chrysotile was found mostly in Russia, Canada and Brazil. Demand for it depends on population growth. Developing countries are the large market. Substitutes for white asbestos, such as polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) fibre, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and cellulose, which are produced in the European Union, are much more expensive.

"That’s why we see a lot of anti-chrysotile rhetoric is from the EU, which stands to benefit if chrysotile imports are banned. Meanwhile consumers, who have limited finances, will lose benefits," he said.

Besides Thailand, Orenburg Minerals has tried to make other countries gain a true understanding about white asbestos.

Sergey Kashanskiy, a candidate of medical science and head of the Labour Hygiene Laboratory of the Yekaterinburg Medical Research Centre for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers, said white asbestos had been proved to be the safest ore used in the industry without any effect that causes any disease in a given situation. There is no scientific proof that chrysotile is a cause of lung cancer, he said.

Gulsara, 60, a security officer, said she had lived in Yasny for 40 years and was never concerned that the mine was harmful.

Serger, 27, a mineworker, said he has never worried about cancer caused by white asbestos, as the mine had a good system to take care of workers’ health.