Alvarez urged to phase out asbestos for constructi

A cause-oriented group urged yesterday the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Heherson Alvarez to approve and implement a proposed administrative order advocating the graded phase out of asbestos as component in construction materials.

Antonio Hombrebueno, president of the Foundation for National Development (FND) said the results of epidemiological studies linked exposure to asbestos to certain forms of lung cancer and other lung ailments.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer also classified asbestos as known human carcinogen.

Hombrebueno said that the DENR order was drafted in 1995 but it has not been signed nor implemented.

"We ask Secretary Alvarez, whom we respect for his consistency advocacy of environmental protection to please take another look at this draft order mandating the phase out of asbestos whether imported or manufactured," Hombrebueno said.

Asbestos is a mineral used in products and other applications for many years including automotive products, friction devices, fireproof clothing, insulation, fire and heat shielding equipment, gaskets, and textiles. It is most commonly used, however, as a raw material component for building materials like roofing and siding, walls and ceilings, floors, pipes and boilers.