Francisco Cortázar and Jesús Uzkudun are part of ASVIAME, the Asociación de Víctimas del Amianto de Euskadi (Association of Victims of Asbestos in Euskadi). They have given an interview in which they tell us about the work of their association and about the ecological and health impact of asbestos.
Francisco Cortázar is from Durango and he suffers from pleuropulmonary asbestosis, an occupational disease caused by asbestos. He is vice president of the association, and responsible for the area of consultations and management in Bizkaia.
Jesús Uzkudum is the spokesperson of the association and is in charge of the Gipuzkoa region and part of the Álava region. “When talking about asbestos in Euskadi, the name of Jesus Uzkudun is well known”. He is immersed in sanitary surveillance of asbestos, and in his case, he has no symptoms of the disease. He has been reporting cases of asbestos effects for more than 20 years. He is also in charge of the union responsible for occupational health of CCOO Euskadi (Comisiones Obreras Euskadi, labour union), and he played a key role in 2003 to keep Asviame on its feet to this day.
“In Euskadi there have been more than 700 deaths per year, in Spain 4,000. In Europe the figure is 88,000 deaths.”
When did you create the Association and how many members are there?
J.U.: ASVIAME had been established by the relative of someone who passed away due to asbestos damage. He decided to leave in 2002-2003, which is when I took over and involved Francisco, Begoña and others. There are about 700 members. We are working in Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Álava and we also deal with some issues in Navarra. We manage consultations, aid for benefits, aid for stair lifts, motorized chairs, we accompany the sick in the judicial process, we distribute press releases, etc. At ASVIAME, we all work as volunteers, we also have a legal team. I manage directly from Gipuzkoa and part of Álava. When a family member calls, they don’t even know where their loved one got sick. For a worker to be recognized as sick from an occupational disease, they must be on the list of workers exposed to asbestos. They are not on the list because the companies have hidden it. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate so that Osalan (Basque Country Health Service) includes that person on the list. That way you can apply for permanent disability no matter how old you are, even if you are retired. Therefore, the burden of proof is on the patient. You have to show that you have worked with asbestos, which is the hard part, given that the companies haven’t complied with legislation. You have to prove cases of 30, 40, or 50 years working with asbestos. If you don’t have evidence, they dodge the issue.
“When a family member calls, they don’t even know where their loved one got sick. For a worker to be recognized as sick from an occupational disease, they must be on the list of workers exposed to asbestos. They are not on the list because the companies have hidden it. You have to prove cases of 30, 40 or 50 years working with asbestos…(when) the companies haven’t complied with legislation.”
When was the first time you heard of asbestos’ effects on health?
F.C: When I fell ill. But this was known about since 1940, due to cases in Europe such as respiratory problems of asbestos workers.
J.U: In the years 1980-82 I used to read about asbestos in relation to Uralita and I, as a maintenance mechanic in a steel mill, was dealing with asbestos. The first lawsuits we filed were in 1997, specifically for a car mechanic who had been contaminated through the brake pads. In those years, labour protection was conspicuous by its absence. I was really aware of the danger of asbestos in 1996, when I saw a worker with mesothelioma, something really unforgettable and terrible.
How many years was asbestos allowed in our country?
F.C: Until 2002. I worked with asbestos casually. I was a welding mechanic and I got contaminated.
J.U: Marketing has been prohibited since 2002. During the years 1960, 1980, and 1990 was the greatest offense. We have tons of asbestos in towns, cities, and its period of use has ended. Tons on roofs, in houses during the years 1960-1980, the bottoms of the pipes are fiber cement. Asbestos is sadly in too many places.
How many sick and deceased people may there be due to asbestos in Basque Country and at the state level?
F.C: From 2007 to the present day, every month in Bizkaia we tend to 6 new cases of those affected. Deceased, about 1,000.
J.U: In Euskadi more than 700 deaths per year, in Spain about 4,000. The Economic and Social Council estimates 88,000 deaths in Europe. Most of them are men, because of the work activities that they were exposed to. However, in Navarra the majority are women in the underground economy. They did chores at home with asbestos yarn and there are families who have been contaminated. In the association, 36 people died in 2019 and 12 died in 2020.
Do you think that pollution and diseases caused by asbestos have been silenced?
F.C: Totally. There are interests to try to hide it. Now it can no longer be hidden, but at first there were many obstacles. The fact that they tell you that in the 1940s there were alerts about asbestos and that it was prohibited in 2002 is absurd, governments have known about it since 1987. That is when the first case of mesothelioma, an occupational disease caused by asbestos, was acknowledged and was not prohibited until 2002. We are fighting for the “Compensation Fund”, a state aid to asbestos sufferers who have no company to claim against, because with the crisis of the 80s and 90s, many companies disappeared. All of Europe has a compensation fund except for Spain, Italy and Portugal. We have been able to get to Madrid and now with COVID-19 we’re halted.
J.U: Absolutely. Even if you read the Basque Government cancer plan, in 2012 it talks of 357 occupational cancers, and 769 are attributable to work. These cases, if they are not processed, do not appear as occupational, then they are hidden. They do not exist. In its day, the labor ministry concealed even those types that social security, mutual societies, and companies recognize. On top of that, unions do not review the number of people who die of lung cancers. As long as you can’t see it, why I am going to invest in prevention?
Europe decided to eradicate asbestos by 2032 and from public buildings by 2028. Years go by, and we will have failed to fulfill a European commitment.
I, for one, have incorporated a withdrawal plan in parliament twice in 2000, to take an inventory of asbestos. It was unanimously approved, and they ended up fighting over who would provide the money.
“Now it can no longer be hidden, but at first there were many obstacles. The fact that they tell you that in the 1940s there were alerts about asbestos and that it was prohibited in 2002 is absurd”
“We are fighting for the ‘Compensation Fund’, a state aid to asbestos sufferers who have no company to claim against”
What has asbestos been used for?
F.C: For hundreds and hundreds of products. Asbestos can be woven, it can be mixed with water to make mortar, from talcum powder to girls’ makeup from China, batches have come to our country. Asbestos has been the best and cheapest insulation. In uralite, water gutters, pipes…
J.U: Asbestos is everywhere, in buildings etc.
What surface amount of asbestos do you calculate there to be in our environment, is there an index?
F.C: Tons and tons of asbestos. The removal of asbestos under regulatory conditions is costly. People make it disappear in their own way. Without going any further, 16,000 tons of asbestos in an unregulated waste dump for asbestos in Zaldibar, mixed with another series of waste.
J.U: In the state there are two million tons of asbestos. In Zaldibar we were surprised, 16,000 tons in a landfill not suitable for asbestos.
“Europe decided to eradicate asbestos by 2032 and from public buildings by 2028. Years go by, and we will have failed to fulfill a European commitment. Asbestos is everywhere, In Zaldibar we were surprised, 16,000 tons in an unsuitable landfill”
Are public Administrations carrying out tasks to eliminate asbestos? Where is this material going to end up?
F.C: Nothing at all. In 2002 it was banned, but there was no law to remove the asbestos, it has remained there. Who controls that, when we have found 16,000 tons in Zaldibar, and trucks from other countries that unloaded material?
J.U: No. Where does it end up? In a landfill, if you have to hire a withdrawal company it is expensive, and people leave it around any corner. The administration has a lot of landfills for nonhazardous waste, but then we found 16,000 tons in Zaldibar and that landfill was not for hazardous waste.
“We propose the using the inerting system for asbestos to eliminate the dangerous nature of the material and specific landfills for asbestos.” “Now there is a risk of environmental contamination because the material is degrading.”
What reflections or recommendations would you provide for the removal of asbestos from our environment?
F.C: We recommend removing it. Because uralite has a life span of 50 years after this, it begins to shed fibers 1,500 times thinner than a human hair, they can’t be seen in the air. The asbestos problem is in fact an ecological problem. There should be specific landfills for asbestos that are well-sealed and do not mix with other materials.
J.U: First, we have to take the asbestos pandemic seriously. Now there is a risk of environmental contamination because the material is degrading. It is an environmentally dangerous, ecological problem. We propose using the inerting system for asbestos, a heating process to eradicate the danger of the material. Or to dispose of it in well-sealed landfills for exceptionally hazardous waste.