CONFERENCE: ASBESTOS IN COLOMBIA 2024. CHALLENGES AFTER THE BAN
JUSTIFICATION:
Through the issuance of the Ana Cecilia Niño law, Colombia took a very important step towards the prohibition of asbestos, one of the most recognized occupational carcinogens, responsible for approximately half of deaths from occupational cancer.
However, in countries with reliable and accurate records as far as asbestos-related diseases are concerned, the incidence of mesotheliomas, and other cancer cases related to non-occupational exposures tends to be increasingly high.
That is why the country, throughout its social spectrum, must review in depth the advances in the tools provided by the law and its implementation in areas such as social awareness of the risks posed by asbestos, the response to care for victims, public policies on the part of the Colombian State, the study and investigation of the problems associated with this mineral, the chain of management of asbestos in place, technical and human capacity regarding laboratories for the analysis and identification of asbestos, alternatives to eliminate asbestos and actions to comply with the norms emanating from the 1968 law, better known as the Ana Cecilia Niño Law.
BACKGROUND:
In 2019, a large social movement of academic, social, and non-governmental, institutional, political, and media organizations managed to ban asbestos in Colombia through the issuance of the Ana Cecilia Niño law (Law 1968 of 2019), which came into force as of from January 1, 2021.
From that moment on, it was prohibited to exploit, produce, market, import, distribute or export any variety of asbestos and products made with it in the national territory.
Once the law was published and sanctioned, two aspects entered the priority agenda of all participating organizations and the Colombian State.
- Public policy for replacing asbestos in place (Article 3);
- Identification and monitoring measures on the health of workers for a threshold period of 20 years (Article 3, paragraph 2) through the identification of workers affected by exposure to asbestos and, in this way, generate the epidemiological studies necessary for compliance to the health of these workers (Article 5).
To this end, the comprehensive route for the comprehensive care of people exposed to asbestos was created, through which information and guidance should be provided about the rights, measures and resources available to them, and health care, including the medical-legal and specialized examinations aimed at diagnosis and treatment (Article 12).
GOALS:
ASBESTOS IN COLOMBIA 2024 conference cycle seeks to promote the implementation of the Ana Cecilia Niño Law to generate a space for discussion and debate on asbestos not only in Colombia, but in Latin America, through the international incidence of experts from countries with experience in this problem.
It will seek to strengthen the commitment of the authorities and society in general with the effective implementation of the Ana Cecilia Niño Law. This includes social awareness of the risks posed by asbestos, the response to care for victims, public policies on the part of the Colombian State, the study and investigation of the problems associated with this mineral, the management chain of asbestos in place, technical and human capacity regarding laboratories for the analysis and identification of asbestos, alternative technologies to eliminate asbestos and actions for compliance with the regulations emanating from the 1968 law, better known as the Ana Cecilia Niño Law.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
- The international experience will provide the opportunity to learn from other countries on how to implement awareness campaigns among the general population.
- The role of the victims and the social debt that must be faced from an adequate design of health care
- What does a public policy imply regarding the legacy of asbestos in place?
- Latest advances in asbestos related diseases research internationally and Colombia
- How to recognize asbestos? Certification processes and training of technical and human capacity. The role of the laboratory.
- Latest advances to eliminate asbestos: Thermal, chemical, mechanical and biological treatment.
- Monitoring and compliance with public policies emanating from the Ana Cecilia Niño law (Law 1968 of 2019)
ASBESTOS IN COLOMBIA 2024 project is an international meeting of conferences to present the problems related to the industrial use of asbestos, from different approaches derived from the Ana Cecilia Niño law (Law 1968 of 2019).
During two days in Bogotá, conferences will be held, with the objective of promoting the proper management of asbestos in place and reviewing the advances in identification and surveillance of the population exposed to asbestos and defining the advances in the implementation of the Ana Cecilia Niño Law (Law 1968 of 2019).
