Black Market Asbestos in the United Arab Emirates

DUBAI - It has recently been reported by numerous government and private sources within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that illicitly imported asbestos-a known cancer-causing agent-is widely available to individuals who seek low cost building materials in one of the wealthiest nations on Earth. Despite a UAE ban on the sale of amosite and crocidolite asbestos, the material continues to be distributed throughout the country in the form of inexpensive, asbestos-containing sheet goods for the construction industry. Local experts estimate that 70-90 percent of residential structures in Dubai contain asbestos in some form, even though the importation, distribution, sale, and use of amosite and crocidolite asbestos was outlawed under a 2006 UAE ban on the hazardous material.

Additional provisions of the asbestos ban called for government inspections of any structure that was scheduled for demolition, a razing that would be prohibited if a building contained asbestos-demolition could only commence after government approved asbestos abatement procedures had been performed. Enforcement of the ban has been lax, however, and asbestos inspections have been routinely performed by improperly or insufficiently trained personnel who oftentimes fail to detect the hazardous material.

When asbestos containing structures are demolished prior to an approved asbestos survey and subsequent approved asbestos abatement procedures, the toxic material can be released into the air where it can endanger the long-term health of workers and those individuals who live in close proximity to the demolition site. Experts agree that no simple solution to the problem seems to exist.

Asbestos is a common, naturally occurring mineral that can be found in many countries around the world. Asbestos can be located in the soil or in exposed rock formations, and while the mineral exists in many types, chemical compositions, and colors, all forms of asbestos are considered to pose some threat to the health of animals and humans. Asbestos was once a highly prized material that had been widely used by numerous industries because of the material's superior resistance to heat, electricity, and corrosive chemicals. Asbestos was once, and in some cases still is, used in the manufacture of products such as automotive brake pads, pipe insulation, soil aeration products, building materials and more.

Scientists and medical researchers confirmed in the early 1970s that microscopic, airborne asbestos fibers could be inhaled into the lungs where they would become permanently embedded in soft tissues; up to 50 years later, these fibers could result in serious respiratory diseases. Asbestos exposures are the cause of the severe scarring of the pleural lining of the lungs known as asbestosis, a condition that results in significantly reduced lung function. Asbestos exposure is also the only known cause of the dreaded malignant mesothelioma, a particularly aggressive and inevitably fatal form of cancer. Small wonder UAE government officials and private citizens alike are concerned about the spread of cheap, black market asbestos building material products that are readily available in Dubai, as well as elsewhere in the country.

Hamdan Al Shaer, the Head of the Environmental Department at Dubai Municipality, stated that he was "not aware of anyone selling asbestos on the black market", but he wished to remind the citizens of Dubai that "failure to abide by the provisions of the national asbestos ban could result in stiff fines and possible imprisonment."

One government official who wished to remain anonymous recently told of a project where a company removed approximately 600,000 tons of asbestos from a cargo storage area at Port Rashid, and during the entire period of the removal, local citizens continually queried workers as to whether they could purchase some of the low-cost but banned material. Experts predict that the problem is only expected to get worse during the worldwide economic downturn, and government officials promised to respond through stricter and more effective enforcement measures.

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