Since 2005, theInternational work organization (Oil) set up on April 28th World asbestos victimsTo commemorate the deceased and sensitize the risks still linked to this dangerous substance
On April 28, the world remembers the victims. Experts: “It will take 75 years to reclaim all asbestos”
On April 28, the world stopped to remember the victims of asbestos, on the occasion of the world day dedicated to those who lost their lives for exposure to this deadly substance. Numbers that speak of a silent tragedy.
«This national day is not just memory – he says Ezio Bonannipresident of theNational Asbestos Observatory -. It’s a cry. A reference to responsibility, remediation, justice for the victims and the protection of those who live today, work, study in contaminated places. On this day, we remember the invisible fallen of asbestos. And we reaffirm a commitment: never more profit on people’s skin. Never more silence. Never more victims ».
According to the National Asbestos Observatory (ONA), only in 2023 about 7 thousand deaths and 10 thousand new cases of related diseases, such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis, counted in Italy. Over the past ten years, our country has seen about 60 thousand people die from asbestos-related diseases.
«The global ban of asbestos that sowing death is still a utopia -continues Bonanni -. These are numbers that do not belong to the past. They are faces, stories, families broken today. Many did not know, others were ignored. Too many have been sacrificed in the name of profit. It is no longer admissible that the lobby of the Killer mineral producers and that the reclamations go slowly, despite the clear act of all institutions “.
A toxic legacy still present
Asbestos, also called asbestos, is a fibrous mineral with marked sound -absorbing and thermo -insulating properties. These characteristics made it a widespread material in industry and construction, with the Eternit brand that identified artifacts such as tiles and cement slabs.
He has insulated buildings, roofs, ships and trains, guaranteeing isolation from humidity and heat. Companies and factories also used it to produce paints and firefighting suits.
Despite the official call, asbestos remains present everywhere. According to an estimate of the Aona, there are 40 million tons of asbestos and asbestos cement artifacts, such as the eternity, scattered in one million sites and microsites, of which 50 thousand industrialists, and 42 of national interest.
There are 2,500 schools and at least 500 contaminated hospitals, involving over 352 thousand students and 50 thousand staff members. Therefore, 1,500 libraries and public buildings that still contain dangerous quantities of asbestos, exposing thousands of citizens every day.
And the esteem for defect because the mapping of the A on is still in progress. And again: always according to the Observatory, the Italian water network includes about 300 thousand km of asbestos pipes, including connections, out of an estimated total of 500 thousand km made mainly before 1992, when the mineral was widely used in construction.
A global crisis
The World Health Organization (WHO) launches the alarm: over 125 million workers are still exhibited in the world, with more than 107 thousand deaths every year. In Europe, about 70 thousand annual deaths attributable to asbestos are.
Slow and insufficient reclamation
Our country has the sad European record for deaths from mesothelioma, overcoming Germany and France. In Italy, in fact, only 25% of the surveyed asbestos has been removed. If the rhythm of the reclamation will remain the current one, another 75 years will be used to free the country from this threat, report Legambiente. Time, however, is not a luxury available: every delay in remediation translates into new victims.
The voice of the victims and activists
On the occasion of the World Day, organizations such as Ona e Legambiente They ask for extraordinary reclamation plans, financial support for affected families and a real commitment in prevention.
Associations such as theAfeva Emilia-Romagna they organized principals, events and the projection in the national premiere of the docufilm “Fiber of injustice”Gabriele Morelli and Simon Boreond. Click to Click Who To see the trailer
Not only memory: concrete actions are needed
The fight against asbestos does not concern the past. It is a current challenge that invests public health, safety in the workplace and environmental protection. Remembering the victims is a duty, but today more than ever we need quick and determined interventions.
Every day of inactivity costs human lives.