The Russian chrysotile industry continues the information campaign “A Big Lie of “Ban Asbestos”, which goal is to inform the public about true reasons of the anti-asbestos campaign, about the falsity of aims of its advocates.

And yet we begin our answer with an axiom saying that there exists no absolutely safe substance. If you work with chemicals and fail to wash you hands afterwards, i.e. break the basic rule of hygiene, the outcome can be very sad, even lethal. But this does not mean that the use of this substance must be banned. It is simply necessary to follow written rules: to wear protective clothes and to use other recommended protective means.

Thus, working with chrysotile and chrysotile-containing products it is critical to follow well-known regulations specified in detail in ILO Convention № 162 on Safety in the Use of Asbestos.

Here we provide facts that, we believe, give grounds to consider the anti-asbestos campaign to be a Big Lie. You are free to agree with us or not; the most important for you is to be free of the asbestos scare imposed by “Ban Asbestos”.

So the question is why we think that the anti-asbestos campaign should be treated as disinformation, a fraud on the international scale aimed at intimidating the public by asbestos-related deaths to the benefit of “Ban Asbestos”.

It is because of the methods of keeping the campaign, the essence of which is to conceal reliable information about the true facts listed below from the public. Let us remind you that the discussion concerns only chrysotile asbestos.

Fact 1. The chrysotile industry is enterprises and people working at them. The number of chrysotile workers only in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries is over 500 thousand, and it is natural that we protect our right to work, including safe labor, social and economic welfare. The practice and policy of a responsible use have been applied in the chrysotile industry for over 20 years now. It goes without saying that the chrysotile industry and its workers fulfill their responsibilities to create safe labor conditions and to minimize risks. The controlled use of chrysotile and chrysotile-containing products ensures the minimal risk of a disease. Numerous scientific studies have proved that it cannot be defined. Thus, we claim that our activities pose no health risks. We manufacture safe products necessary to millions of people. And we are being honest.

But who and what do Ban Asbestos advocates protect, what are the reasons for their activities and what do they produce? Their product is an asbestos scare. By manipulating the trusting nature of people they enrich themselves and their associates including false lawyers, false diagnosticians, and false specialists of other categories, being false informants.

Fact 2. There are different types of asbestos. Chrysotile and amphiboles (5 types) were known to man back in 1300 B.C. They were given a common name of “asbestos” for their two principal common features: fibrous structure and fire resistance. In all other respects they are principally different, both in their chemical composition, physical and chemical properties (amphiboles are acid resistant whereas chrysotile is alkali resistant), biological potency (negative health effects of amphiboles of other catergoriesities to create safe labor conditions are 100 to 500 times greater than those of chrysotile) and even the color (amphiboles are brown and blue whereas chrysotile is white).

It is the use of amphibole asbestos that accounts for a large number of asbestos-related diseases among Europeans since amphibole fibers tend to accumulate in the human body and do not dissolve in its acid fluids. Their use is banned due to their harmful effects on human health.

Chrysotile is alkali-proof. Thanks to this very property small quantities of inhaled chrysotile fibers quickly dissolve in the acidic medium of human lungs and are naturally cleared without any detrimental health effects. Dangerous concentrations of chrysotile are possible only in the lungs of a person with a long-term occupational exposure to high levels of dust who has never taken any safety measures. ILO Convention № 162 permits the use of chrysotile under controlled conditions developed on the basis of a century-long experience in its application. Following safety rules (and this is the principle of a controlled use of all substances) is the basic requirement to any human activity, both occupational and non-occupational (this principle should be observed in the household as well).

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