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Most people in Peshawar are not familiar with the link between asbestos and lung cancer. Like other friable asbestos-containing materials, inhaling talc that is contaminated with asbestos poses a fatal cancer risk. Asbestos is a substance that is found in Talc, which if remains inside the Talc is harmless but once it becomes airborne, it contaminates the air and if inhaled, it causes 100% asbestosis which is a type of lung cancer, by the individuals who inhale it.
A friend and a university classmate Wali Akbarzai once informed that he heavily invested in a project producing Talc from Talc Stones. He signed a contract with a renowned Italy based company HZM UF Minerali SRL where they used to export Talc. HZM Company supplies Talc to Europe based multinational companies using this talc as a base product for their commercial products. Talc is used for a wide range of purposes, ranging from personal products (including soap and baby powder) to industrial lubricants for precision machinery, ceramics, and electronics to name a few. During their first transaction, they sold about 1000 tons of Talc to HZM.
During the product inspection of the first consignment, HMZ company engineer informed Wali that the product contained traces of harmful asbestos. Wali and his team were not aware of this substance or hazards associated with Talc. Likewise, the team of workers probably was at the greatest risk as they might have sustained some level of asbestos exposure risk. They were not trained or well equipped to protect themselves. They used simple dust masks to protect inhalation of the dust but they were unaware that this simple dust mask does not provide sufficient protection against asbestos fibers/dust once airborne. In order to be fully protected from asbestos dust, a special respirator equipped with an appropriate high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter is required.
In Peshawar, there are a few warehouses in the Hayatabad Industrial Zone and on Ring Road Peshawar. These warehouses are posing higher risks not only to the workers but also to the surrounding community and the commuters using the roads due to Talc dust exposure. They are unaware of any preventive measures to prevent the air contamination from asbestos. The caterpillar excavators are used for loading and unloading of huge buckets of Talc and during this process, the dust produced mixes with the air contaminating the air with asbestos substance.
It is worth mentioning, that talcum powder is often used by the barbers of Peshawar and other parts of the country which is not asbestos free. They usually buy it at cheap rates from the millers. They use it on the back side of the neck of the client after the haircut or it is used to wipe off the extra hair that might have fallen on their shoulders and around the neck.
This is very dangerous and using talcum powder in such closed spaces increases the likelihood of inhaling the powder laced with asbestos by their clients. The occupations where Talc use is common such as, barbers, factory workers, and makeup artists using cosmetic containing talc, talc miners, and talc millers are highly exposed to Talcosis and Asbestosis diseases.
Western countries import Talc from Pakistan that is certified by a Swiss-based company SGS (which is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing, and certification company). The SGS company has offices in various cities in Pakistan including Peshawar, however, Talc from Peshawar and other parts of the country have to be carried all the way to Karachi for inspection of the harmful Asbestos traces and certification thereby, exposing the risk of talc dust inhalation to the entire community who they come across.
In 1960’s, in the Western world and Russia, Asbestos was heavily used during construction of buildings as it is considered to be a perfect insulator and keeps buildings warm. Seventy thousand people live in Asbest (Russia), once known as “the dying city” for its extraordinary rates of lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases. But Uralasbest (world’s largest Asbestos mine) does not appear to have suffered any loss of status. Russia is by far the biggest producer and exporter of asbestos in the world and the Russian government is waging an aggressive campaign to continue shipping asbestos to countries in the global South, particularly Asia. It has the greatest support from Vladimir Putin who justifies the use of Asbestos by saying, “Its safe”.
To prevent the risk of Talcosis and Asbestosis diseases and to lower the mortality caused due to Asbestosis cancer, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) must ban the products that contain Asbestos substance, and the millers and miners should be properly equipped with a special respirator that has an appropriate HEPA filter to filter the air for these workers while at work.
Additionally, they should operate indoors, to avoid the air contamination for the local community within the vicinity or the daily commuters who travel using the adjacent roads to the mills. Alternatively, these mills should be relocated to areas where the local community is located at a safe distance to avoid any interaction with asbestos. And lastly, they should establish SGS companies/labs locally in each district to save time, travel and exposure to talc dust contamination with asbestos.
