|
| Rural India keeps the asbestos industry going |
| B Krishna Mohan / Hyderabad Jun 30, 2009, 00:10 IST |
|
The asbestos cement sheeting industry is growing at a healthy 10-12 per cent a year.
Even as the real estate sector has taken a hit due to the slowdown and subsequent reduction in demand, the asbestos cement (AC) sheet industry, which provides roofing material for about 50 per cent of the rural population, is relatively untouched. Driven by steady demand from the rural markets, the industry is growing at a healthy 10-12 per cent a year.
There are some 18 big players in the industry catering to the domestic market. The industry employs about 300,000 people and its annual turnover is around Rs 4,000 crore, about 20 per cent of which goes to the states as direct and indirect tax.
According to Brig Sethi, executive director of the Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers’ Association (ACPMA), the demand for asbestos will not come down anytime soon: “Few products can compete with asbestos cement, due to its longevity and lower cost. Indians have been living under asbestos-roofed buildings for a long time.”
However, the industry is finding it difficult to cope with campaigns against asbestos products, which it fears will persuade people to stop using these products. According to ACPMA, the campaigns are based on medical findings of asbestosis (a lung disease) in the Western countries, which spray asbestos for insulation under uncontrolled conditions. In India, only the chrysotile variety is used in AC products like sheets and pipes, and not for spraying.
Some NGOs approached the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2002, seeking a ban on the use of chrysotile asbestos. The ministry constituted a committee with representation from regulatory, advisory and research agencies. Based on its recommendations, the ministry had given environmental clearance to new units to manufacture chrysotile asbestos sheets.
In a sense, the AC industry is environmentally benign. Fly-ash, a waste product that coal-fired power plants try to dispose of by spending vast sums, is the main ingredient used by it (it also uses cement). If the AC industry loses out, those who stand to benefit are industries making substitute roofing material, like metal, GCI, aluminum and PVC sheets, ACPMA pointed out.
The industry also uses the naturally occurring white asbestos fibre (blue asbestos is banned, since it could cause asbestosis) for its tensile strength, durability and resistance to heat and chemicals. It would require an additional 14,000 Mw of power to replace AC products with metallic products.
The industry is thriving on the import of about 350,000 tonnes of chrysotile asbestos a year from Canada, Brazil, Russia, Zimbabwe and Kazakhstan for production of AC sheets and pipes. Asbestos is also mined in India, particularly Rajasthan, but the quantity and quality are of no relevance to AC sheet production.
Apart from roofing material, AC is used in making pressure pipes. “Asbestos is the next best roofing option after RCC and it costs less than a third of equivalent steel sheeting,” according to Abhay Shankar, managing director of CK Birla Group-owned Hyderabad Industries Limited, one of India’s oldest AC sheeting companies. Visaka, Ramco and Everest are other AC companies.
The industry’s total production capacity is about 4.5 million tonnes and a small part of the output is exported. “We are getting some steady orders from African countries for AC sheets,” said Raghava Rao, senior vice-president (marketing) of Chennai-based Ramco Industries. He noted that about 60 million sq meters of asbestos is already installed in the country.
The Indian asbestos industry has automated most operations, including handling of raw material, which is brought in pressure-packed containers that are fed to automatic bag opening machines. This ensures that no dust is released at the work area, Shankar said. From there on, it is a wet process under an enclosed system until the product emerges in finished form.
The asbestos industry is now waking up to campaigns by various groups to ban the use of AC products. According to V. Pattabhi, an expert on asbestos cement, the products are safe. “We are an industry that is committed to ensuring a good, clean and safe business without compromising on safety,” he said, adding that the AC industry is now ready to debate in various forums about the safety of the products with scientific and medical facts. In the last 25 years, there has been no case of chrysotile-related lung cancer in India, he claimed.
The industry is still labour intensive but not technology intensive. It is mandatory for all AC companies to maintain the health records of all employees for 40 years from the date of joining or 15 years from the date of leaving the job, whichever is later. There is a pre-employment medical examination, periodic check-ups after taking ill, at cessation and follow-up after retirement, Shankar said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
