09:30 - 10:30, International Conference Hall
Workshop G
Multinational Enterprises and Overseas Transfer
Chairs: Takehiko Murayama and Domyung Paek
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Annie Thebaud-Mony
Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM), France
ABSTRACT
Asbestos mining never represented more than 20% of the total asbestos consumption in France. Mining shut down in 1952 in the Queyras (Meyries mine) and in 1962 in Corse (Corse Cape mine). From 1962 to 1997, at which time asbestos was banned in France, all asbestos was imported from Quebec, Russia and South Africa. The asbestos industry in France has been dominated by two multinational firms: Saint Gobain (in particular the Everite branch) and Eternit (the Belgian group, currently named Etex). In France, Saint Gobain has been the specialist of sprayed asbestos for insulation by the way of its subsidiary Wanner Isofi. Another Saint Gobain subsidiary - Everite - and Eternit-Belgium were the two main operators in the market of asbestos cement.
Saint Gobain in cooperation with Eternit-Switzerland became the third asbestos mining producer in the world by the way of the Brazilian mine exploration. Since the year sixties till today the Saint Gobain & Eternit subsidiary, SAMA, is exploring the Brazilian mine in Goias, even though asbestos has been banned in France in 1997. The market of asbestos cement in Brasil has been dominated by the Brazilian subsidiary of Saint Gobain Brasilit and Eternit-Switzerland.
Saint Gobain's managers were completely aware of the asbestos health effects when they began asbestos mining in Brasil. But the firm applied constantly a strategy of double standard.
The paper will compare the strategies of the firm in the two countries in relation to three main aspects : the controle of the asbestos market, the controle of the information about the health effects of asbestos, the reaction to the collective action of the victims claiming for justice.