JAIPUR | Sept 11, 2016: Rajasthan Human Rights Commission took to task the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) Ahmedabad for negligence in following up on cases of suspected asbestosis. This is a lung disease that afflicts those with long exposure to asbestos. The fibres of asbestos, which for long was used as a roofing material, can aggravate lung tissues and cause scarring. This leads to shortness of breath and a crackling sound while exhaling. Acute asbestosis could lead to a form of cancer called mesothelioma. Rajasthan banned mining of asbestos in 1986.

In 2007 and 2011, NIOH conducted tests on mine workers in Udaipur, and found several cases that were suspected to be asbestosis but did not pursue these cases to the logical conclusion to establish whether the workers were indeed afflicted or not.

The Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission, taking suo motu cognizance of a newspaper report in September 2012, registered a complaint in the matter of the asbestosis cases in Udaipur.

NGO Mine Labourers' Protection Campaign (MLPC) in a complaint to the commission in 2014 said that of the 164 patients examined by NIOH in 2007, 93 were suspected to be asbestosis affected. Twenty-two of them had died by the time the NGO took the matter to the SHRC.

The SHRC sought a report from the NIOH, which claimed that no conclusive results were available. There were only "suspected" cases. The NIOH response also held that they could not recover any documents to show that there were 93 such cases.

Dr MK Devarajan, in an order issued on August 31, asked why the NIOH did not preserve important data or refer the suspected cases for further examination, if such examination was beyond the competence of NIOH. Public funds were used for the preliminary examination, but the money was wasted since no results were obtained, and no confirmation of the "suspected" cases was made.

Devarajan notes that another study was conducted by NIOH in 2011, and the results of that too "was a big zero". Four "experts" had been engaged for the purpose, but their expertise was nowhere visible.

Devarajan says that this leads to the "inescapable conclusion" that NIOH did not want to report the large number of NIOH cases. During a later round of tests, after some people sat on dharna, NIOH found 19 of 87 workers previously examined suffering from asbestosis. Devarajan notes that this is a case of "serious professional misconduct unbecoming of an institute of NIOH's stature".

The commission has brought this matter to the notice of the secretary, ministry of health and family planning of the Centre and the director general, Indian Council of Medical Research.

The commission has also sought to know whether exposed asbestosis pits pose a risk. There were 15 cases of mesothelioma (cancer, resulting from asbestos exposure) in Ajmer, among people with no significant exposure to asbestos mining.

This case will be taken up next on November 16.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)