asbestos brakes
"Killer" - neutralize
A letter to Putin was sent by the Chrysotile Association, an association of domestic producers of asbestos products. In a nutshell: the draft technical regulation “Safety of wheeled vehicles” says that since January 2012 it is not allowed to use chrysotile asbestos in the brakes.
Is it worth arguing! Many have heard that, according to European rules, asbestos in the brakes was prohibited back in the 80s, that asbestos dust is a carcinogen: it is formed when the pads are worn on discs / drums and into the atmosphere. In addition, Russia is simply obliged to approve the regulation - by virtue of the obligations associated with the entry into the Customs Union of the EurAsEC countries.
But the Chrysotile Association disputes every single argument, even encroached on the sacred - UNECE Rules, which also vetoed the use of asbestos in brakes.
Prohibition means job loss
Of course, we must first of all talk about the environmental side of the matter, but first of all, about what could “scare” the Prime Minister. ZR. RU managed to find out facts that were not included in the text of the letter to Putin, but that explain a lot:
- 6 factories in the country produce asbestos brake linings;
- the cost of output for the year is almost 6 billion rubles;
- output volume - 21.5 million units.
Make asbestos illegal - and the plants will fall to their knees, there will be a threat of bankruptcy, many hundreds of workers will be left without work.
The poor are offended
As for the fact that "the domestic auto industry risks being left without brakes, " the authors of the letter exaggerated somewhat. Pads of the Russian chrysotile industry almost do not go to car assembly; they are mainly bought by car enterprises, repair plants, car services. And a huge share goes to parts stores. Divide the above millions of units of products into pairs (for each wheel), and it will become clear how many poor car owners, as well as economy-class vehicles, need them. It is for them, since these pads are used mainly for repairing used "budget" equipment - check the list of brands in the table:
Asbestos brakes
Victims are meaningless
But there is an alternative to asbestos fiber (steel wool, copper, brass flakes, various polymer compositions, etc.) - so why not use these materials? It is possible, but then the factories will have to change equipment. Which will cost more than 1.3 billion rubles.
The factories do not have these means (to take it out like that).
In addition, none of them will have time to change equipment by the time the ban is introduced (in six months) - it will take five years to master new technologies. If there is a pause in production, a shortage of brake pads is likely in the market. But not for long: products from Asia will flood into the country, it will occupy a market niche, which will ruin domestic producers.
And almost the main thing: pads with alternative materials are 2–2.5 times more expensive than asbestos ones. Get into the shoes of the owners of “Muscovites”, “Zaporozhtsev”, “Volynia” (imagine the income of these people?), As well as the directors of peripheral fleets - you will understand what such a rise in price means for them.
Tricks of the lobby?
The argument "all the same, one will have to get rid of the environmentally harmful" does not work - experts from the chrysotile industry convince. All of the listed economic and social sacrifices are meaningless, since "asbestos used in pads is safe."
But such a statement contradicts the generally accepted position! After these words, the Chrysotile Association can be suspected of being an “asbestine” lobby, the goal of which is to save the business by any means - and nothing more. But the evidence of scientists does not fit into suspicion.
Doctors give the go-ahead
Studies conducted by a leading researcher at the Scientific Research Institute of Occupational Medicine of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, doctor of medical sciences Yevgeny Kovalevsky, proved that with friction (in brakes), under the influence of high temperatures, chrysotile turns into a completely new substance - forsterite, and it is not a carcinogen and is not dangerous for environment, not for a person. Bans on the use of “white” asbestos, the scientist claims, “have no scientific justification”; from a medical point of view, "there is no reason to replace chrysotile with other fibers."
Regardless of the Russian scientist, Dr. Dennis Paustenbach, an American toxicologist, conducted his research (our “lobby” could hardly have imposed anything on him), moreover, he carried out something with the participation of the US Environmental Protection Agency (the Agency was encouraged to complicated). The result is the same: 99.7% of chrysotile during friction turns into a harmless substance, the remaining fibers (less than 1%) are crushed to a size of about 0.3 microns. Even in the smoke of burning leaves, the particles are larger and larger.
No panic
How so?! Everyone has long and insistently asserted that asbestos is a killer …. Researchers have unearthed that this horror story was composed by another lobby. It is interesting to tell how the myth arose - in the core of events, of course, a lot of money. The writers mischievously played on the fact that there are two types of asbestos, one of them is really harmful, but not chrysotile.
And another story, also from the field of business. Planet Earth is not so rich in natural reserves of asbestos, and only Russia and Canada are really large-scale developments. So why buy asbestos if, under a plausible pretext, you can find a substitute for it, which, moreover, will create jobs, and it is more expensive to implement it!
No one will argue that this is the main reason, but the logic and practice of the business leads to the conclusion that the "environmental" decision was made for economic reasons. And if you recall that the decision to abandon asbestos was taken at the height of the Cold War, then political motives cannot be ruled out.
Now, it seems, a white streak of “white” asbestos is approaching: in many countries, safe chrysotile has ceased to be biased. Today it is fully used in Canada, the USA, China, Mexico and six dozen other countries. True, among them there are almost no countries of the Old World.
And prompt Europe, and the UN
The owners of the "Muscovites", "Zaporozhtsev", "Volyn" and other "old men" will ask: so now? With this question, we turned to B. Kisulenko, deputy. Director General of NAMI - Central Automobile and Automotive Institute, which, on behalf of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, drew up the draft regulation “Safety of wheeled vehicles”.
- We seem to have figured out, learned the whole truth and are now inclined to make changes to the draft technical regulation - to eliminate the ban on asbestos-containing brake linings. As soon as we receive the recommendations of the Ministry of Health (this is an inevitable formality), we will amend it,”Boris Viktorovich told the correspondent of ZR. RU.“Moreover, as a member of the European Economic Commission, we will tell colleagues from other countries that there is truth.
And there, you see, you can propose amendments to the UNECE Rules.
