They have so far held two meetings. How did they go?
Roberto Eizmendi: There has been a great participation in the two meetings, more than we expected. People want to be informed. What we have told you is that the first step is to enroll in the health surveillance plan. To do so, a worker's working life report must be submitted specifying what he has done in each of the companies in which he has been employed.
Such documentation should be processed in Osalan, so that the worker can be included in this health plan. In this way, doctors will monitor you to see whether or not the work done has any health effects. You can also go to the general practitioner and say that he has worked with asbestos. If your doctor is sensitive to the issue, you will be included in the plan in this way. It's a certificate certifying that you work with asbestos.
There are people who do those tracking, others do it only occasionally and others don't have any information about the plan. Every person has their own story.
It should be borne in mind that some 10,000 workers have passed from the companies around Llodio. 10,000 workers who were able to come into contact with asbestos. That is why we believe that there has been a very important part of the population of Aiaraldea in contact with this material, and that it must be controlled.
"We think there's a lot of interest in the subject, because they're seeing the citizens that a lot of people in the area are dying."
Juanjo Basterra: In the first meeting there were about 30 people, and in the second about 34. It seems that at least the interest in the issue has not decreased. I think there's a lot of curiosity, because you're seeing the citizens that a lot of people in the area are dying. ASVIAMIE accounts for 35 people killed by asbestos in Hego Euskal Herria last year, almost 75% more than in the previous year.
However, according to official data, in 2018 there were 348 deaths, recorded from the beginning of the year until mid-December. The seriousness of the situation is clear when comparing the number of deaths due to accidents at work: Last year, the figure rose to 68 people. In December, a woman died as a cleanser of her husband's work suits. In addition, there are those working in Aiaraldea who say that 10,000 workers have been in contact with asbestos.
What cases have been found in the meetings?
R.E. : There are some with pleural plaques. Others say nothing.
J.B.: There is one who has developed mesothelioma, the creator of asbestos, is already condemned to death. Most people with mesothelioma survive an average of two years.
What activities do you want to develop from now on?
R.E. : The meetings will be held on the second Thursday of each month, from 18:00 to 20:00 in the multipurpose hall of the city hall. The February we will do it on day 15, at the same time and in the same place.
J.B.: It is our intention to help people approaching and, if not, to channel them to lawyers who can offer them assistance. At the next meeting, we're going to give you some phone numbers so people can find out and help. The goal is for the ball to grow gradually.
R.E. : The problem has been seen to exist. If the meetings are attended by 34 people, that means that there are a lot more people who care about the issue. But there are a lot of people who take the problem in secret. When we've distributed the papers, a lot of people have asked us for more copies to hand them over to the old peers.
"Our intention is to help people approaching and, if not, to refer them to lawyers who can offer them assistance."
J.B.: The issue is very worrying, as the consequences of asbestos can appear at the age of 10, 40 or 50.
In the CAV there are about 9,000 people enrolled in the health surveillance plan, and in Navarre 3,000, 12,000 in total.
Most workers retire and theoretically, when they are in the best years to enjoy retirement, the illness has appeared to them and has damaged their lives. There have also been people from the SA in the meetings.
The management of the SA pointed out that the workers had not been in contact with asbestos. You replied that this was a lie.
R.E. : The removal of asbestos eight years ago does not mean that it did not exist before.
J.B.: They say that in the tubes there was asbestos and that they eliminated it. But the most dangerous thing was not the pipe, but the asbestos that is used in the furnaces. The factories cannot argue that they no longer use asbestos. Of course they do not use it, because it is now forbidden to use it.
What do you refer to a person who has worked with asbestos?
R.E. : Come to the meetings. There you will see that you are not alone, that there are many people who have the same concerns or problems.
J.B.: We will be here to help, for nothing else. However, we do not rule out protest actions, such as in Osakidetza.
Most of the creators of ASVIAMIE were from Aiaraldea. They had a headquarters in the House of Culture, but gradually the project collapsed. We have started to develop the group in Laudio, but we would like to extend it to all of Aiaraldea. We do not rule out meetings in Amurrio or in some other people, but we have only just begun. We will not reach 10,000 workers, but we want to make the circle as big as possible. That's why we encourage people to step up.
This news was posted by Aiaraldea and we brought it to ARGIA thanks to the CC-by-sa license.
Fortunately, most industrial companies start to understand, after the many convictions, that a small exposure to asbestos fibres, without adequate respiratory protection, is sufficient to cause a serious lung disease that causes ten times more deaths than accidents at work, even... [+]
