“They stopped production in France and doubled it here. They are killers! “ The asbestos scandal is in the cry of this woman from the city of Sibaté, Colombia. Banned in the West since the 1980s and today in 67 countries around the world, also called asbestos “Killer fiber”has been known as dangerous since the 1930s.
Its extraction and international trade are not yet banned all over the world. Thomas Dandois and Alexandre Spalaikovich, the authors of the documentary broadcast on Arte, sound the alarm with their meticulous investigation.
Endowed with exceptional physical properties (flexible, resistant, non-flammable, economic) that have made it successful, asbestos has given its name to asbestosis, a very debilitating lung disease. It is the cause of many diseases including mesothelioma, a malignant tumor that killed Ana Cecilia Niño, a Colombian journalist, passionate about fighting the asbestos lobby in 2017. The annual number of asbestos deaths worldwide is estimated to be between 100,000 and 120,000.
Relentless damage
The documentary crosses extensive footage of mining sites in Russia or Canada with chilling images of merchant ships stranded on the beaches of Chittagong in Bangladesh. Take the viewer to the ruins of a farm in Corsica or to Badia del Vallès, a Catalan town where more than 200 condominiums await the removal of asbestos.
The authors take the time to give the floor to scientists and doctors who combine their analyzes to show the inexorable harmfulness ten, twenty or even thirty years after exposure to the risk.
A very useful delay for unscrupulous actors who take advantage of weak or corrupt states to continue their craft. There remains the delicate issue of waste treatment, which spares neither France nor Germany. Possible, provided it is somewhat desired, asbestos removal will be complex and expensive.
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