• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy
• Books
• Gallery

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, June 19 The use of asbestos in cement product manufacturing is being targeted by some global groups for “wrong” reasons, according to Mr Abhaya Shankar, Managing Director, Hyderabad Industries Ltd (HIL).

Speaking at a news conference jointly organised by HIL and the Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers’ Association (ACPMA) here on Friday, he said non-governmental organisations from the western countries — such as No Asbestos Group — identified India as one of the most important countries to launch agitation in, seeking a ban on the use of asbestos.

“We suspect the rich and powerful steel lobby and some lawyers in the US are behind this kind of propaganda,” he said.

He said that the Indian sheet industry is predominantly using white asbestos fibre unlike the developed countries that use blue asbestos, which is said to be more dangerous to health.

“Even for the white fibre (chrysotile asbestos) being used in India, all industries including, HIL are adopting stringent safety measures. The exposure levels are 10 times lower than what is permitted by the World Health Organisation,” he said.

Due to the need to provide housing to the poor, developing countries such as India should continue to use asbestos sheets, he added.

More Stories on : Cement | Health | Andhra Pradesh

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line