Document pmn3y8bww68LeoM2ydjegX4Mj

FILE NAME: St. Gobain (SG) DATE: 1999 June 30 DOC#: SG006 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Newspaper Article Translated from French - French Group Ceases Production of Asbestos Translation o f June 30, 1999 Saint Gobain...stos ban article in O Estaanailbox:/c%7C/f/email/lnbox?id=l.5.-4.16.1... 1184442.llOTlOTfif^mail.mother.com&number1^ Subject: Translation of June 30,1999 Saint Gobain asbestos ban article in O Estado de Sao Paulo Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 18:39:30 -0700 From: Berman Family <bermfam@davis.com> To: editor@hazards.org, giannasi@telnet.com.br, bcastle@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us, thebaud@lorelei.vjf.inserm.fr, fcs@kmes.com, mrobbms@wiggle.s f ca.us, joeladou@aol.com, dfactor@ucla.edu, dmb@cpuc.ca.gov, mrl@cpuc.ca.gov Headline: FRENCH GROUP CEASES PRODUCTION OF ASBESTOS; SAINT GOBAIN OWNS 15% OF INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES LINKED TO THE SECTOR IN BRAZIL by Reali Junior, Correspondent, O ESTADO DE SAO PAULO June 30, 1999 PARIS- Tire Saint Gobain group, one o f the oldest and m ost respected companies in France, has decided to cease industrial activites linked to asbestos. In Brazil, it owns a 15% share in Etemit. The source o f this information is Jean Claude Breffort, general manager o f the firm in Brazil. He is going to negotiate with his Brazilian partners to agree upon a date for a complete ban on the sale o f the fiber, along the lines o f an agreement recently reached by the European Union (EU). According to Breffort, the first step has already been taken. Brasilit, which is owned by Saint Gobain, has withdrawn from the Brazilian Asbestos Association (ABRA). Members o f the Board o f Directors o f ABRA have stated that they have no knowledge o f the decision to withdraw. The association continues to hold that the type o f asbestos used in Brazil (chrysotile) has not been banned and that it is different from the type used in Europe. Antonio Luiz Aulicino, the president o f Etemit, told the Estado that he would rather not comment on the Saint Gobain group's decision. He explained that the the type of asbestos used in Brazil is completely different from the type used in Europe. "Chrysotile asbestos, which is mined in Minucu, is not contaminated and does not contain amphyboles." The president contends that the mineral fiber used in Brazilian industry is bio-soluble and doesn't harm the organism. Attacks "As always, the Europeans are punishing the developing countries," protests the president o f Etemit. According to Aulicino, the attacks on Brazilian asbestos are part o f what is in fact a commercial war. "European studies show that the synthetic fibers which could be used as substitutes for asbestos can also be very harmful to health." Some researchers do not make a distinction between amphybolite fibers (blue and brown asbestos) and chrysotile (white asbestos) fibers. According to 1 of 6 12/20/99 10:41 AM Translation o f June 30, 1999 Saint Gobain...stos ban article in O Estaomilbox:/c%7C/f/email/Inbox?id=l.5.'4.16.1... 1184442.12071076@mail.mother.com&number=9 these researchers, all these fibers have the potential to cause serious lung diseases, such as asbestosis and even cancer. Recent examples from aroimd the world now indicate, more than ever, that prevention and widespread dissemination o f information should take precedence in order to avoid catastrophes like the scandals o f blood contaminated with the HIV virus in France and the poultry which contained dioxin in Belgium. In both o f these cases, there are strong indicators o f negligence on the paid o f both the private and the public sectors. If the Brazilian partners o f Saint Gobain do not agree with the decision to gradually pull out o f industrial activities which involve asbestos, the French group is prepared to immediately sell its 15% share in Etemit. The National Bank o f Economic and Social Development [Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social] (BNDES) The National Bank o f Economic and Social Development (BNDES) owns 8.3% and Centrus (the pension fund o f the employees o f the Central Banco [Banco Central] own 17.3%. Other owners o f Etemit include Dinamo (18.3%), HUS/AGH (16.8%), foreign owners (6.7%) and a number o f diverse investors. The Etemit company controls the Cana Brava mine in Minacu, Goias state, and employes 600 people. [Translator's note: I think it would be very interesting to see how the many Brazilian public sector investors were brought into the Etemit group and what THEY were told about the hazards o f asbestos when they invested public and pension money in the business. W hat was the role o f Stephan Schmidheiny when he (or his agents) sold their share in Brazilian Etemit to Brazilian banks and public pension funds in the late 1980s? THAT would be a very interesting case for the comts in both Brazil, France, Switzerland, and Belgium. How did the payoffs happen? How much money was siphoned out o f Brazil by the foreign partners in profits and investments at a time when they KNEW that asbestos was a lethal and a dying industry????!!!! Were the local investors, both public and private, being lied to about the long-term commerical prospectrs o f asbestos and about the export markets?????] Now people like Barry Castleman could become witnesses for the local, Brazilian inverests against the French and Belgians and Swiss. After all, didn't ANYONE in Brazil notice that by 1983 Johns-Manville had completely converted its asbestos operations to substitute fibers? See the article by Berman, "Asbestos and Health in the Third W orld: The Case o f Brazil, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SERVICES, v. 16, No. 2, 2nd quarter, 1986 which briefly mentions our findings regarding Manville do Brasil. Barry Castleman has good notes on our process o f discovery regarding Manville do Brasil. Note that when you subtract th 15% owned by Saint Gobain, 50.1% is owned by other large investors, m ost o f them Brazilian]. General manager Jean Claude Breffort is convinced that the political 2 of 6 12/20/99 10:41 AM Translation o f June 30, 1999 Saint Gobain...stos ban article in O Estaanailbox:/c%7C/f/emailTnbox?i<tiT.5.4.16 1... 1184442.12071076@mail. mother.com&number=9 decision to prohibit the utilization o f asbestos depends on the Brazilian government, but that the companies should adopt a responsible posture on their own iniciative. W ith this in mind, Brasilit is already preparing to convert itself in order to maintain its employment levels. The same thing is happening with other compames in the sector. [Translator's note: They mean, implicitly, the fiber-cement sector, but it is never actually stated]. If Brazil adopts a position simillar to that o f Europe, Saint Gobarn will not protest. "We will give all of our support, so long as the time-frames are compatible with reconversion," stated Breffort. He believes that the [fiber-cement] sector will need five years, at most. According to the general manager o f the Saint Gobain group in Brazil, the decision o f the European Union to prohibit the sales o f any type o f asbestos in its territory by the year 2005 is a new fact which cannot be ignored. "It is no longer a matter o f an isolated decision taken by France, but it is a consensus which is not limited to Europe alone: Japan and other countries are also preparing to follow this path," he went on to explain. This time-frame is necessary for the conversion o f the 300,000 jobs in the area: 50,000 o f them primary and 250,000 secondary. Difficulties Brazil, says Breffort, will have a hard time staking out an independent position against the rest o f the world, especially because most o f the countries in Latin America will go along with this world-wide tendency. The conversion movement is already taking place rapidly in Argentina and Chile. As is well known, Brazil, in association with C anada-another large world producer-submitted a complaint against France to the World Trade Organization (WTC). The subject is being dealt with in Brasilia in the Civil Cabinet of tire President o f the Republic, by staff members o f minister Clovis Carvalho. In Brazil, up to now-', asbestos use has been limited to chrysotile, a fiber which is supposed to be less dangerous than amphybolite asbestos, which is very widely used in Europe and is responsible for serious occupational diseases and even cancer. The fact that chrysotile is less dangerous does not mean that it does not constitute a danger to public health. Its effects are reputed to be the same, but with a lower incidence. This has led the French courts to sentence the government to pay compensation to thousands o f sick people and to the families o f people who died after having been victims o f occupational diseases caused by the handling and breathing o f asbestos dust. Hie utilization o f chrysotile asbestos in Brazil for roof tiles and water 3 of 6 12/20/99 10:41 AM Translation o f June 30, 1999 Saint Gobain...stos ban article in O Estaanailbox:/c%7C/f/email/Inbox?id--1.5.4.16.1...1184442.12071076@mail.mother.coni&numberz::9 tanks, says Breffort, is not as dangerous as the spraying o f asbestos in Europe. But tire workers who deal with the mineral are still exposed.. Rigorous controls on asbestos exposure were required in Brazil in 1984, but became obligatory only in 1990. The managing director o f Saint Gobain recognizes that lung problems only appear many years later, which is the reason why tire problems have a tendency to become worse. "The controlled use o f asbestos in Brazil has considerably reduced the risks," says Breffort. Tire majority o f Brazilian companies, including Etemit, offer good safety conditions to their workers. But that is not tme for a small number o f companies, especially in the manufacture o f brake shoes. This problem began in tire past, then the risks were unknown and preventive measures were practically non-existent. For this reason, Breffort and Brasilit have decided that the position taken by the European Union, which gives the industry until 2005 to stop using asbestos, to be a reasonable one, especially because alternative solutions already exist for asbestos use, though they may be a bit more expensive. Among those solutions are PVA, which, says Breffort, does not create any risk for the population at large. The president o f Etemit disagrees with that assertion and claims that it has not yet been scientifically proven. Ban On May 4, 1999 the European Commission [Translator's note: Rory: Is this the correct translation of Commissao Europeia?] approved guidelines for a total ban o f all types of asbestos by the year 2005. In October, Great Britain will join with France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Norway, and Switzerland, which have already prohibited the sale o f asbestos. Greece, Portugal, and Spain still use asbestos. The president o f Etemit notes that Germany imports Brazilian asbestos. "The European Commission recommends that until 2003 synthetic fibers which are being considered as asbestos substitutes should be submitted to scientific analyses to learn whether they are harmful to health," says Aulicino. In 1906 the harmful consequences o f asbestos exposure were first uncovered m Europe, but the prohibition o f the use o f the fiber is recent. Spraying, used for the insulation o f building, has been prohibited since 1977. Thr oughout Europe, very expensive programs o f asbestos decontamination have been put in place. At the University o f Jussieu [sic] in Paris' Latin Quarter, the government will spend one billion francs. [I thought it was Universites Paris VI et VI at Jussieu, but correct me, Annie Thebaud, if I am wrong!!] Today, the health and safety standard o f workers who carry out 4 of 6 r2/20/99 r0:4r AM Translation o f June 30, 1999 Saint Gobain...stos ban article in O Estaanailbox:/c%7C/f/email/Inbox?id=T. 5.4.16.1... 1184442.12071076@mail.mother.com&numbei=9 this kind o f work are extremely strict. Nevertheless, for m any years in the future Europe will continue to suffer the consequences o f past asbestos use. The first symptoms o f disease caused by asbestos appear many years after exposure. Asbestosis, an illness which reduces respiratory capacity, is one o f those diseases, along with mesothelioma (a malignant tumor) and other types of cancer caused by asbestos in Western Europe. The United States is ready to join with Canada in a formal protest at the World Trade Organization, o f the 1997 French decision to ban all types o f asbestos. This decision to protest also has the support o f Brazil and Zimbabwe. Asbestos is used most commonly in the fabrication o f roof tiles, water tanks, and insulation products. "I haven't seen any official document in regard to the issue, the United States will support Canada," said B. J. Pigg, a United States citizens who is the president o f the International Asbestos Association (IAA) [Translator's queiy: Is this the collect English rendering of "Associacao Intemacional do Amianto"?]. "The banning o f any substance is contrary to free trade principles and there is study regarding the effects o f synthetic fibers on health." (Amaldo Galvao helped with this article) Thursday, June 30,1999 BOX: MULTINATIONAL HAS OPERATED IN BRAZIL SINCE 1937 PARIS- The world sales o f the Saint Gobain group reached US20 billion last year, employing 120,000 people in the sectors o f glass and technology. The Saint Gobain group was founded in 1665 and is part o f the history o f France. It has been in Brazil since 1937, when it founded the Brasilit company. The sales o f the Brazilian company are bout US$2 billion, employing 12,000 workers in 40 factories in a number o f different states. In the last five years, new investments reached US$200 million per year. The fiber-cement sector (asbestos), through Brasilit and its affiliates, is responsible for 15% o f annual sales. END OF ENGLISH TRANSLATION Sony I took so long to translate this article. In May I started my new job as a "Public Utilities Regulatory Analyst" in the Monopoly Regulation Branch o f the Office o f Ratepayer Advocates o f the California Public Utilities 5 of 6 12/20/99 10:41 AM