The ANAMT (National Association of Occupational Medicine) issued a statement repudiating Ordinance No.1287, released by the MTE (Ministry of Labor) on September 30, establishing a special committee to discuss the use of asbestos (CEDUA).
According to the note, “(…) The doctors, in particular, have an obligation to denounce and fight against the trivialization of health and life, not only the workers in the production chain of asbestos in Brazil, but also the people not occupationally exposed, more vulnerable, more uninformed and defenseless, who are exposed to chrysotile asbestos fibers at various times of their “life cycle”, which features a serious public health problem, and goes beyond the competence of those who established the said commission!
(…) The issue is serious because it disregards a long history of struggles and hard-won gains in Brazil and worldwide, and that – like more than 50 countries – culminated in total ban (banishment) of extraction, processing, commercialization, transportation and use of chrysotile asbestos and its products, in at least five states (Mato Grosso, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo), and about 23 municipalities, including several state capitals.”