While the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) had called for the elimination of asbestos in 2005 and 2006 respectively, the message finally reached authorities in Bihar with the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) cancelling the “no-objection certificate” given to asbestos factory units. In a recent order, the BSPCB chairperson ordered the Tamil Nadu-based industry to close their industrial units with immediate effect. The order said that if the units were not closed, “complaints shall be filed under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.”
With this, Bihar is all set to become free of asbestos-producing factories, joining more than 50 countries that have banned the production, use, manufacture and trade of the hazardous mineral fiber. Breathing in asbestos particles causes asbestosis, a disease of the lungs. Read more
Courtesy: The Asian Age
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