Position Paper April 2024 Chronology of Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI)'s work (April 2002-April 2024) 2001: Prior to the formation of Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI), its co-founder wrote about adoption of WTO’s Appellate Body’s report on European Communities-Measures Affecting Asbestos and Asbestos-Containing Products by WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body and the Report of WTO’s Dispute Resolution Panel, as modified by the Appellate Body report at its meeting on 5 April, 2001. It made it clear on 11 April, 2001 that the report of the Dispute Resolution Panel should be read in ..read more

Dr. David Egilman, a professor of family medicine and medical expert witness who helped some 600 trials involving corporate crimes including occupational and environmental health crimes died on April 2 at his home in Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA. The New York Times reported "David Egilman, Doctor Who Took On Drug Companies, Dies at 71". He was a recipient of the prestigious Collegium Ramazzini's Dr. Irving Selikoff Award for his studies and achievements which contributed to the protection of workers’ health and the environment. Mourning his death, the author of Asbestos: Medical and Legal A ..read more

India has banned mining of White Chrysotile Asbestos, not its trade, manufacture, use   Who compelled India to buy asbestos laden property in Washington D.C.?    ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), a member of Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) welcomes total import ban on White Chrysotile Asbestos, a mineral fiber that causes laryngeal cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and ovarian cancer by USA under the the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) which was amended in 2016. The new TCSA law provides the US Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) with more authority to restrict or ba ..read more

Legacy of Ishwari Prasad, a noted supporter of asbestos free Bihar movement will remain alive Prof. Ishwari Prasad, noted economist from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) used to argue against the externalization of health costs due to hazardous industries like asbestos industry. He said, “We cannot wait for studies and counting of dead bodies for government to act. The global evidence is incontrovertible” at the Conference on Environmental and Occupational Health in the presence of Chairman, Bihar Legislative Council  on December 24, 2012. He signed the Patna Dec ..read more

Jim Fite is no more. He died at the age of 77 on January 1, 2024 at his home in Baltimore. He was founder and longtime executive director of the White Lung Association (WLA), the first asbestos victims’ group in the US. I met Jim in Ottawa in September 2003 where he gave a presentation on the work of  White Lung Association (WLA), formed in 1979. He was appreciative of the work of the one year old Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) on the website of WLA. He had published the resolution of BANI which was adopted at its launch in April 2002. He was deeply critical of a ..read more

Towards the end of 2023 Brazilian asbestos victims demonstrated in Brasilia over the postponement of verdict by the Supreme Court (STF) which could have shut down operations at the Brazil’s Cana Brava asbestos mine, the only mine still producing asbestos in Brazil. This long-awaited verdict was scheduled to be delivered in early November 2023.  “As in many other countries, our Supreme Court can sometimes move at a glacial pace. Nevertheless, it is most unusual for the Court’s timetable to be altered at the last minute and without any explanation. The case pending was relatively simple wi ..read more

From Archives: iMig general policy statement on asbestos   20 February 2019   The International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig) is a community of physicians, basic researchers, clinician/scientists, care providers, and social advocates that is engaged in understanding the underlying genetics, molecular mechanisms, proteomics, and epidemiologic factors associated with mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is an aggressive and nearly universally fatal cancer specifically caused by asbestos.    The goal of those involved with iMig is to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos, to i ..read more

Asbestos is poisonous for Brazilian citizens and for the citizens of some 70 countries but Indian ministries of commerce and chemicals continues to permit it's import disregarding it's lethal consequences for the present and future generations of Indians. Notably, "asbestos production in Brazil is permitted for export purposes only", reveals the Mineral Commodity Summaries of January 2023, U.S. Geological Survey. Till recently, Canada too had similar policy of double standards wherein it had no home use asbestos policy but it exported it to India with the complicity of Indian law makers and r ..read more

Lessons for India from the conviction of Swiss asbestos billionaire found guilty of causing death of 392 people due to carcinogenic asbestos mineral fibers   Similar fate awaits the manufacturers of asbestos based products in India   Will Yale University rescind the honorary degree given to Stephan Schmidheiny and will winners of Max Schmidheiny Freedom Prize return their prizes now?   The fate of Stephan Schmidheiny, a Swiss billionaire who has been sentenced to 12 years in jail on aggravated manslaughter charges connected to the deaths of hundreds of people due ..read more

Dr. Barry Castleman, the renowned author of Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects has been interviewed in a recent issue of Corporate Crime Reporter about the criminal prosecution of the Eternit asbestos billionaire in the Italian courts in the backdrop of the upcoming verdict in Stephan Schmidheiny's murder trial of over 392 people who died from mesothelioma on June 7, 2023 in Novara, Italy.  In the interview, he has discussed the greenwashing of Schmidheiny's image by the 300 years old Yale University which awarded him an honorary degree in 1996. The University is putting its ow ..read more