WORKERS and employers’ representative bodies last week joined forces to oppose a resurgent campaign to ban the mining and production of asbestos-related materials in the country, fearing massive job losses.
World over, asbestos is classified as a highly hazardous agent, causing about half of all deaths from occupational cancers.
About 66 countries, including South Africa, have so far banned the use of all forms of asbestos.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that at least 107 000 deaths and one and half million Disability Adjusted Life Years each year, from occupational diseases, are caused by asbestos, namely lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesoth
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