More than 400 tons of asbestos seized at the Port of Santos

On March 5, the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) seized 459 tons of asbestos at the Port of Santos. The fiber is considered carcinogenic by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the Labor Prosecution Office (MPT), transport and commercialization of the fiber violates a state law prohibiting cancerous fibers.

According to the MPT, the cargo was transported from Minaçu (GO), where it was extracted, to the port area to be exported to Asian countries. Sama Minerações Associadas, of the Eternit group, the company responsible for the mine in Goiás, hired the company Rodoj Júnior Transportes e Logística Ltda. to transport the material.

The agency was monitoring the case after a complaint was sent by the Brazilian Association of Individuals Exposed to Asbestos (ABREA). Thus, inspection was requested by ANVISA in Santos in order to prove the non-compliance with State Law No. 12,684 of 2007.

According to the legislation, the use of mineral fiber in the State of São Paulo is prohibited. The MPT, which maintains the National Asbestos Banning Program, is responsible for investigating labor relations and health risks arising from the exposure of workers to asbestos.

The Dalastra port terminal, where the cargo was seized, was the target of a public civil action proposed by the MPT to prevent it from carrying out any activity for handling chrysotile asbestos, and to force it to remove all the substance received once and for all from the company Sama SA, observing the parameters set by environmental legislation.

In November 2017, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) endorsed the São Paulo law, extending the ban on the production, use, and transportation of asbestos throughout the national territory.

See the position of the company responsible for the cargo:

“Sama informs that the Santos office of the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency drew up a temporary ban on the cargo with chrysotile asbestos ore against the transport service provider.

Sama follows the guidelines of the Law of the State of Goiás, nº 20,514, of 07/16/2019, which allows the processing and extraction of the ore exclusively for the foreign market, and whose constitutionality was not impeded by the Supreme Federal Court in ADI 6200 ( rapporteur is Minister Alexandre de Moraes).

The company points out that chrysotile fiber is no longer used in any manufacturing system in Brazil. Sama’s product is packaged at the mining company in Goiás exclusively for customers abroad, and transportation for export purposes is in accordance with the law in force.”

Also in a note, the Santos Port Authority (SPA) clarifies that it does not agree with the information that the referred cargo was seized in the Port of Santos. “The Dalastra company is located outside the Organized Port area, therefore, it is not under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority. SPA reiterates that the Port of Santos does not store asbestos; such cargo only enters the Port to embark on the ship packed in a container, in compliance with state and federal laws “.

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