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Asbestos: killer mineral still exists on island
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Asbestos: killer mineral still exists on island
The commencement of the case of late Gilbert Leong Son has brought the asbestos issue on the forefront again. Leong Son lost his battle to mesothelioma, an asbestos-linked cancer in 2011. He was an assistant factory manager at the Mon Désert Alma Ltd (later known as Savannah Sugar Estates) in St-Pierre. In 2010, when the company failed to respond to a compensation notice, he filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court.
At the first hearing of the case recently, Lucienne Marie-Ange Leong Son recounts the tough phase: "My husband worked for the company for 35 long years. He fell sick in 2002, but only in 2009, when we took him to Singapore, we found out that he had malignant mesothelioma. My husband suffered a lot, and the family went through so much trauma."
The other aspect concerned with this issue is that of houses built with asbestos material. Trade unionist and activist Reaz Chuttoo explains: “There are 3113 asbestos houses in Mauritius. The houses in Black River, for instance, were built by the government post cyclone Carol, in 1962. Once the asbestos issue surfaced, the Ministry of Land and Housing transferred the proprietorship to most of the inhabitants for a meagre amount, and tried to wash their hands off the responsibility of funding for the replacement of those houses… It's not just the inhabitants of these houses, but the surrounding population too is at risk.’’
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals, the inhalation of which can cause serious illnesses, including malignant lung cancer, mesothelioma (a formerly rare cancer strongly associated with exposure to asbestos), and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis).
The next hearing of Gilbert Leong Son's case is scheduled for 6th November. Activists expect the outcome of this case to lead the way for many individuals who want to file their own cases.
Voir la version francaise - L’amiante: un tueur qui ronge l’île
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