Posted on August 24, 2012

On August 24 and 31, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court is holding a public hearing to review the constitutionality of the state of São Paulo’s law that prohibits asbestos use. This hearing is monumental, as it will ultimately reaffirm São Paulo’s asbestos ban or dismantle the ban altogether. As stated by the Court, “The purpose of this public hearing is to analyze, from a scientific point of view, the possibility of the safe use of chrysotile asbestos and to examine the risks to public health of exposure to that material, as well as to verify whether or not fibers employed as alternatives to chrysotile asbestos constitute viable substitutes for that aforementioned material.”

The hearing was requested by the Brazilian Chrysotile Institute, which serves the asbestos industry. The 35 witnesses at the hearing include both experts testifying against asbestos use and representatives of the asbestos industry. I will be attending the Supreme Court hearing on August 31. Until then, I am honored to share a video of Fernanda Giannasi’s dynamic presentation at ADAO’s 2012 Asbestos Awareness Conference, “Challenges to a Total Ban of Asbestos in Brazil.” The facts are irrefutable. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) agree: asbestos is a known human carcinogen, and there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.

Known as the “Erin Brokovich of Brazil,” Fernanda Giannasi is an unrelenting voice on behalf of asbestos victims. She is a founding member of ABREA (the Brazilian Association of People Exposed to Asbestos), which was created in 1995 to act as a voice for Brazil’s asbestos victims. She has been a Federal Factory Inspector in Brazil since 1983. During that time, she has become a specialist in issues relating to asbestos, nuclear energy, and other toxins and carcinogens, such as silica. After being exiled to Osasco in 1995, Ms. Giannasi became aware of a number of cases of asbestos disease among the local population. In collaboration with former workers from the Osasco asbestos-cement factories, whom she came to know during her inspections of Eternit’s plant during the 1980’s, she began an investigation into the incidence of asbestos-related diseases in the city. For her work on behalf of Brazil’s asbestos victims, she has received death threats and has been sued by Brazilian asbestos stakeholders. However, various groups in Brazil, the U.S., Japan, and Canada have honored her.

In unity,

Linda

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