The Brazilian Supreme Court has confirmed that Brazil’s 2017 ban on asbestos includes mining asbestos for export. Brazil now joins Canada as a large former producer of chrysotile asbestos, which has banned chrysotile from being mined, exported, used, or manufactured into asbestos-containing materials. With this decision, only Russia, Kazakhstan, and China remain major producers of chrysotile asbestos.
In a unanimous verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that a Goiás state law from 2019, which allowed asbestos mining to continue, was unconstitutional and contravened a national prohibition the court put in place in 2017. As reported by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), the decision confirmed that the asbestos ban is inviolable and absolute, and declared the Goiás law unconstitutional.
Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA salutes the years of tireless work and efforts by activists and people affected by asbestos in Brazil and around the world who brought about this result. Without their hard work, this decision would have been impossible. Speaking to the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), Fernanda Giannasi, the Cofounder of the Brazilian Association of the Asbestos-Exposed (ABREA), said:
“Our suffering is over. It is a victory for the fierce and resilient struggle of the victims of asbestos and the entities united for this cause…While we celebrate the hard-won victory of the definitive ban on asbestos, the lethal fiber, we also lament the thousands of victims whose lives were cut short by the irresponsibility of companies in the immense production chain of this carcinogenic mineral.”
In remarks also made to IBAS, Adriana Augusta de Moura Souza, the President of the National Association of Labour Prosecutors (ANPT), said that the court’s decision reaffirmed Brazil’s commitment to recognising the dangers of asbestos and protecting people from its impacts:
“We are talking about a substance (asbestos) that is recognised as harmful and an issue that directly involves the life, integrity, and protection of those who work with it. ANPT has always maintained that economic interests cannot override fundamental rights. The decision reaffirms this commitment and also aligns with international norms and guidelines that mandate preventive action in the face of exposure to agents of proven risk, such as asbestos.”
Congratulations on this amazing victory, and for putting another nail into the coffin of global asbestos production.