Asbestos is a mineral fiber found in two thirds of the planet, which has more than 30 varieties. Scientifically speaking, there are two different groups of this mineral: serpentinites e amphiboles.

Amphibole asbestos, also known as blue or brown asbestos, is a type of asbestos with a high iron content and the fibers are stiff, straight and pointed. It is difficult for the body to absorb this type of fiber. When inhaled, they remain in the lungs for more than one year. That is what makes amphibole asbestos potentially carcinogenic and that is why it has been banned throughout the world.

Chrysotile asbestos, belonging to the serpentine group, is also known as white asbestos. This form of asbestos has a high magnesium content and its fibers are curved and silky. When inhaled, they remain in the lung for two days, at the most. According to the European Community, only fibers that stay in the lung for more than 10 days can be considered carcinogenic. That is why only chrysotile asbestos is used in Brazil.

In Brazil, there are 17 operational plants in the fiber cement sector which uses chrysotile, responsible for 94% of the Brazilian consumption of this mineral. Their production centers on roofing tiles and water tanks.

Like any other mineral, chrysotile is considered unhealthy when used in an irresponsible manner. That is, without policies enforcing the controlled and responsible use of these fibers, chrysotile can compromise the lungs and be harmful to the workers' health.

The first report on asbestosis was presented by the English physician Dr. Montague Murray to a government committee, the Departmental Committee on Compensation for Industrial Diseases, of the United Kingdom, in 1906.

Amphibole asbestos was used inadequately for many years, in Europe, where the fibers were sprayed on building walls and ship's holds, to serve as protection against fire. A consequence was that everyone working in these places was directly exposed to these fibers, which became loose with time. Because of the tropical climate prevalent in Brazil, neither this use nor this form of application were ever encouraged or needed. Only chrysotile asbestos is used in Brazil, and most of the time, it is mixed with cement. This technique prevents fibers from being released in the air. Since the 80s, fiber cement plants adopted a policy that calls for the controlled and responsible use of chrysotile asbestos, thereby ensuring worker safety.

No. There are no reliable statistics on the number of workers exposed to asbestos fibers who have developed pulmonary diseases. However, even though we recognize that there might be unreported cases - an unlikely event in view of media coverage and control measures - it is possible that current estimates are inflated. There is a trend towards attributing to chrysotile asbestos any and all pulmonary diseases diagnosed in patients who had come in contact with the fiber. However, more strict and accurate tests have proven that many of these diagnoses were wrong.

Current Brazilian legislation establishes that 2 f/cm_ is the maximum tolerated level for airborne fibers. However, in the Cana Brava mine, measurements in most places record levels of less than 0.1 fiber/cm_, that is, 20 times less than the limit established by the law. In fiber cement plants, measurements in most places also show levels below 0.1 f/cm_.

There have been no official records of diseases contracted by the general population because of the use of fiber-cement products containing chrysotile asbestos. Since the asbestos fibers in these products are encapsulated and do not become loose, there is no risk to the population. However, even if fibers were released in the air, concentration levels would not reach the tolerance limit.

No. There are no records of anyone contracting asbestos-related diseases because their houses are covered with asbestos roofing shingles or because they use fiber cement water tanks. These products contain asbestos - less than 10% - as well as cement and aggregate material - more than 90%. Because of this, the fibers do not come loose and therefore they offer no risk to the population.

According to the World Health Organization - WHO, there is no evidence that asbestos can cause diseases when swallowed along with water.

There are no official records of any such events. The concept of dosage (concentration x time) is essential to the development of any disease, and this is not likely to happen in the civil construction industry.

Chrysotile extraction, as well as the manufacture and sales of products containing chrysotile fibers in Brazil are regulated by Federal Law No. 9,055/95 and Decree No. 2,350/97. Brazil has the most comprehensive and modern body of legislation on this matter in the world. These laws guarantee that chrysotile asbestos is used in a safe way and establishes a ban on other types of asbestos. Spray applications are also banned in the country. Norma Regulamentadora (Regulatory Standard) No. 15 (NR-15), annex 12, establishes the tolerance limits for mineral dust and states that, in the case of chrysotile asbestos, the limit for respirable fibers is 2 fibers/cm3.

Current legislation took into consideration international standards valid at that time.

The committee was instituted to reopen discussion on the use of asbestos in the country. These efforts to discuss the matter anew are a direct reflection of the ban on this mineral effected in Europe.

All these activities are regulated by law. It is up to the Federal Government to legislate on question that involve any mining activity. The laws of the States of São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul, which banned asbestos, were declared unconstitutional by the Supremo Tribunal Federal (Federal Supreme Court). Other laws prohibiting the use of the mineral in other Brazilian States are being questioned by the workers.

No, there aren?t. The National Environmental Council - CONAMA - has issued only one resolution that serves as a guideline. In 2004, CONAMA reviewed its Resolution No. 307, on civil construction residues, dated July 5, 2002. After this review, dated August 16, 2004, the Resolution was renumbered as No. 348 and asbestos-containing residues were included in Class D - hazardous residues. According to this new resolution, fiber cement residues containing asbestos (roofing shingles and tiles and water tanks) should be sent to special landfills. However, Instituto Brasileiro do Crisotila has started legal and administrative proceedings questioning Resolution No. 348, on the basis that it does have any technical or scientific support. Instituto Brasileiro do Crisotila follows the resolution issued by the European Community on Patent 901/97 - Edict on Civil Construction Residues, which, through Directive 99/31/EC, the directive on landfills, states that civil construction residues containing asbestos can be sent to regular landfills without prior treatment, since they are inert materials and therefore do not harm the environment. Item 2.3.3 of Directive 99/31/EC, on Asbestos Residues, states: ?Construction materials containing asbestos, and other asbestos-containing residues, can be disposed of, without prior inspection, in landfill areas for non-hazardous residues, as stipulated in article six, of the directive for landfill sites?. Therefore, the CONAMA Resolution only serves as a guideline. There is definitely a need for specific legislation, in every county, addressing this issue and regulating the question of civil construction residues containing asbestos.

Most of the workers presenting with any asbestos-related pulmonary disorder are those who worked with asbestos until the 70s, when the practice of fiber emission control was not being enforced in the mines or in the industry. However, for employees who started working in the 80s, there are no records of occupational diseases related to exposure to chrysotile asbestos.

The concept of controlled use, as applied in Brazil, means a system for using the natural chrysotile asbestos in a way that does not cause any harm to the work or the environment and involves: - industrial technology; - increasing workers' awareness through information; - control measures. This system ensures total control of mineral fiber emission in the air, during mineral extraction processes, production and application of materials that use asbestos as raw material, in addition to continuous analysis, inspection and supervisory actions carried out by the company, by the workers and the government.

The National Agreement for the Controlled Use of Asbestos signed by workers representatives and mining and fiber cement plant owners, ratified by the government, sets the maximum exposure levels for chrysotile asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter in the workplace, well below those established by the legislation. It also gives workers complete autonomy to stop production in a sector or even to bring mining activities and plant production to a complete halt should they get a reading that the exposure is above the limit established in the agreement.

An environment containing a very high quantity of respirable asbestos fibers in the air. An environment where workers stay for long periods of time, sometimes years.

Actually, Brazilian companies started to control the use of asbestos 10 years previously, already during the 70s, when the first signs of the carcinogenic potential of exposure were identified. Starting in the 80s, the plants reached a high level of excellence in the controlled use of chrysotile.

<p>Yes, and it is being carried out within the context of the National Agreement for the Controlled Use of Asbestos. This document contains specific clauses, which define the employee-employers relationship, collective protective measures, individual protection equipment, in addition to environmental and occupational evaluations, medical check up and follow up, and disposal of industrial residues. This Agreement, which has been widely publicized, also states the responsibilities of the Supervisory Committee on the Controlled and Responsible use of Chrysotile Asbestos and establishes duties, as well as responsibilities and penalties. </p> <p>Moreover, since August of this year, Instituto Brasileiro do Crisotila started to implement the Partnership Program for the Controlled Use of Asbestos, also called PAC. This program was thought and created with the aim to organize a system for managing the controlled use of chrysotile asbestos, according to ISO standards,&nbsp; by systematizing and expanding the process that has already being applied, since the 80s, in several sectors of the chain of production for this mineral.&nbsp; The basis of this Program is a management manual where all the procedures that must be followed by the 16 units of the participating companies are stipulated. </p>

Yes, manufacturers package informative leaflets with the fiber cement products they sell. This is an additional tool that the companies in the asbestos chain of production use to help clarify the public about issues pertaining to the correct use and handling of this mineral.

The only Brazilian chrysotile mine in operation is the Cana Brava mine, located in the county of Minaçu, in the State of Goiás and it is the third largest producer in the world

The first Brazilian plant to manufacture products containing asbestos began its activities in 1906. The first time this mineral was extracted in Brazil was in 1938, in the mine of Poções, in the State of Bahia. Brazil became self-sufficient in terms of chrysotile asbestos extraction in the 70s.

Yes, Brazil has been self-sufficient in this area since the 70s. Today the country exports around 65% of its production and is the third largest producer of chrysotile asbestos in the world. Brazil is responsible for supplying 12% of the asbestos consumed in the world, representing an estimated 2.1 million tons, in 2004.

Currently, Brazil exports to more than 20 countries, most of them developing countries, such as Bolivia, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Iran and Malaysia.

The domestic market for these products is responsible for R$ 2 billion in transactions a year.

The extraction of chrysotile asbestos does not cause any harm to the environment, because the extraction process does not use chemical agents and the residues are disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner. Moreover, SAMA, the mining company that explores the Cana Brava mine, has put in place stringent control measures that are applicable to the extraction, processing and transportation processes. It is the only asbestos mining company in the world which was awarded the ISO 14001 certification on Environmental Management.