We are a group of victims of industrial accidents and diseases. Because of poor and improper workplace settings, workers have been affected by occupational diseases or hurt by industrial accidents. The injuries are not only physical, they also break hearts and minds and the damage can last for a very long time, in many cases, permanently. For some of us, these diseases and accidents means not only losing our loved ones, but also losing the sole breadwinner in a family and living in trauma and poverty since then.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Re: "Asbestos can cause cancer, but 'it's cheap'," News, May 14

This article points out that Thailand still permits the use of white asbestos, called chrysotile, as a raw material in manufacturing.

Scientific evidence clearly shows that all kinds of asbestos, including chrysotile, can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma (asbestos-specific cancer) 25-40 years after exposure. The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organisation has classified chrysotile as group 1 (carcinogenic to humans). The International Programme on Chemical Safety has classified chrysotile as a carcinogen.The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that asbestos kills 100,000 workers a year worldwide. The extensive use of asbestos in the 1970s in industrially developed countries lies behind many of the asbestos-related cancer cases we see today.