Posted on August 26, 2021

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) welcomes the Brazilian court’s immediate suspension of extraction, exploration, processing, marketing, transport and export of asbestos produced. For years, Brazil has been the sole exporter of asbestos into the United States. In 2020, the United States spent $507,119 on over 250 tons of asbestos from Brazil alone. 

The recent decision from the court located in the Brazilian State of Goiás is consistent with the decision of the Brazilian Supreme Court. This is a huge win for the public safety of Brazilian workers, and is reflective of the work done by Fernanda Giannasi, Associação Brasileira dos Expostos ao Amianto, and former Labor Inspector for the Ministry of Labor and Employment in Brazil, as well as many other advocates, workers, unions, victims and families, activists, and lawyers in both Brazil and the United States. 

“Having helped to testify that asbestos should be banned in Brazil, it is rewarding to see the courts there upholding their law regarding this protection for both workers and the public, and one can only hope that similar good sense will prevail here in the United States where we have not yet joined more than 60 countries around the world in banning this outrageously hazardous material,” said Arthur L. Frank MD, PhD. 

Eternit S.A., who owns SAMA, was established in Brazil in 1939. The company manufactures asbestos-cement products, as well as non-asbestos cement, plaster, concrete tiles, and plastic products. SAMA, an Eternit S.A. subsidiary, is involved in the extraction and processing of chrysotile asbestos mineral/ore. As a publicly traded company, Eternit’s profile is accessible to the U.S. government and investors, and attracted U.S. investors. In fact, back in 2013, Eternit S.A. institutional and mutual fund shareholders included Mellon Capital Management Corporation, The Vanguard Group, Inc., and State Street Global Advisors.

However, it has been known for a long time by both the Brazilian and American governments that asbestos is a known carcinogen that causes cancers of the lung, larynx, and ovaries, as well as mesothelioma and asbestosis. This did not stop the U.S. from importing large quantities of it, as Brazil had been the world’s third largest asbestos producer for decades. 

Finally, in 2017, the Brazilian Supreme Court banned the extraction, industrialization and commercialization of chrysotile asbestos, using a 2001 Rio de Janeiro state law. But an injunction was granted quickly to the only asbestos mine in Brazil, called SAMA, so that they could continue operating only for exporting. This operation would last until all the appeals court heard the case. In the meantime, the mine stayed open, under an authorisation from the Governor of Goiás, who was sanctioned in 2019, of an unconstitutional law to allow the asbestos export and the U.S. kept importing asbestos from it. A final decision from the Brazil Supreme Court is awaited on September 15, hopefully to finish with the numerous appeals Eternit has made to keep mining asbestos since 2017. 

“I applaud the recent decision of the court in the Brazilian State of Goiás. The immediate suspension of extraction, exploration, processing, marketing, transport and export of asbestos is a huge step in preserving the health and safety of all from the deadly effects of asbestos,” said Richard A. Lemen, PhD, MSPH.

Earlier this year, ADAO and ABREA jointly called for a ban on asbestos imports and use. In the US, nearly 40,000 people die from asbestos-related diseases each year. In Brazil, 107,000 workers die annually from asbestos diseases. There is no safe level of exposure.

​​”It is reprehensible that the United States is not only risking the lives of their own civilians, but is actively and knowingly risking the lives of workers in Brazil as well,” wrote Fernanda Giannasi, in the release. “I urge the U.S. chlor-alkali industry to rethink their actions and stop killing Brazilians for your own gain. The U.S. has a pivotal role in this moment to convince other countries to stop mining, import/exporting, trading and using this lethal mineral.”

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like Fernanda, everyone at ABREA, and other advocates around the world, workers and the public in Brazil will now be much safer from the dangerous and deadly threat of asbestos. We extend our sincerest congratulations to the advocates and fighters in Brazil, and hope that the U.S. takes notice and bans asbestos once and for all in our country.

Linda Reinstein

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