A seminar discussing how to prevent asbestos-related diseases in Vietnam took place in Hanoi on June 20.
The event was co-organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health(MoH)’s Environment Management Department and the Australia Council ofTrade Unions.
Speaking at the event, MoH Deputy Minister NguyenThanh Long said that asbestos is a harmful fibrous mineral which cancause lung cancer and other diseases such as asbestos pneumoconioses,pleurisy and carcinoma. It has been named in the list of substances thatneed to be strictly controlled in labour safety and hygiene.
Asbestos has been used in Vietnam since 1960 and is controlled underthe regulations of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)International Convention 162 on the use of asbestos for workers . However, Vietnam is facingdifficulties in controlling the harmful effects of the substance onhuman health and the environment.
Therefore, the seminar is heldto update information on the control of asbestos-related diseases inthe world and discuss the building of control systems in Vietnamesehospitals, Long said.
According to Truong Le Van Ngoc, arepresentative from the ministry, about 125 million people over theworld are exposed to asbestos in their work place, of whom over 107,000people die of lung cancer, carcinoma and asbestos pneumoconioses.
Asbestos is used widely in producing cement roofs, pipes, boilers andheat and electrical insulating materials. About 3,000 industrial andcivil products contain asbestos, which enters the human body throughrespiratory and digestive systems.
Dr. Luong Mai An from theEnvironment Management Department said that although asbestos-relateddiseases are hard to be treated, they can be prevented. The diseasesusually develop after 20-30 years since the first contact with thechemical.-VNA