Feature
WORLD
White gold’s deadly legacy Controlling the use of hazardous products in developing countries is hard. Businesses, governments and society need to learn the lessons from the global tragedy that asbestos is still leaving in its wake BY NEIL HODGE
T
he dangers relating to lead paint, asbestos and some pesticides have been known in developed countries for decades, and their sale and use have either been banned or severely curtailed. But when one market closes, others remain open for business and developing countries have long been a lucrative market – as well as a dumping ground – for products that western countries will not touch. Canadian-based Dominion Colour Corporation, one of the largest manufacturers of lead pigments in the world, is hoping to continue to export paint containing lead pigments from its Netherlands-based plant, despite a ban by the European Chemicals Agency that came into force last May. The company was granted an exemption after it claimed that lead chromate – which the EU added to a list of “substances of very high concern” for human and environmental health – was an essential component of its product. The final decision on whether the company can export its paint rests with EU member states and is expected later this year. Dominion states that its lead pigments are supposed to be used for industrial purposes only, and that it has strict controls on the companies it is supplying the products to. But industry bodies like the British Coatings Industry oppose the substance’s continued use, and over 120 countries have voted to eliminate the use of lead in all paints by 2020 as part of a UN-sponsored
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Top left to right: Gates of an abandoned asbestos factory in Mumbai, India 2009. An asbestosis sufferer in Ahmedabad, India 2009. An Indian doctor holds a slide of an X-ray showing lung tissue damaged by asbestos exposure, 2009. Above: An Indian asbestosis sufferer holds up medical papers proving his illness is asbestos-related, 2009.
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