<
https://www.preventionweb.net/blog/rebuilding-ukraine-imminent-risks-asbestos>
"The war in Ukraine has wreaked havoc on urban areas, and has already caused
over six million people to flee as Russian forces continue to bomb their
neighbourhoods. We hope that the war will soon end, and that families will be
able to return to their homes.
However, the war also will have cascading, long-term impacts, including a
secondary environmental disaster caused by uncontrolled asbestos. This will
undoubtedly present significant long term health risks for residents and also
for those who may come to assist in reconstruction efforts.
One issue of serious concern is the problem of unprecedented asbestos
contamination, at a scale that the world is ill-equipped to deal with."
[...]
"During its time under the Soviet Union, Ukraine itself was a major producer of
asbestos, and used high volumes of asbestos-containing materials in
construction. Although policy makers were increasingly aware of the risks, the
complex geopolitics between Russia and Ukraine made it extremely difficult for
Ukraine to ban the import, sale or use of asbestos. In fact, in 2011 the
government of Ukraine sided with Russia to block the inclusion of chrysotile
asbestos in the Rotterdam Convention, an international agreement on the trade
of hazardous chemicals.
Ukraine’s high usage of asbestos continued until very recently, with more than
183,000 tons used in 2005 alone. It was only in 2012, at an international
asbestos conference held in Kyiv, that parties discussed the phase-out of
asbestos production and use; and in 2017 Ukraine finally banned asbestos."
Via Christoph S.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
