PDN Photo of the Day

May 13, 2019

The Devastation of Asbestos by Louie Palu

Raghunath Manwar examines an X-ray of one of several workers who has been diagnosed with asbestosis in Ahmedabad, India. Raghunath is the secretary of an NGO, the Occupational Health and Safety Association, that assists employees affected by asbestos from a power-generating company and a cement factory. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
The scar on John Nolan's back from a 2014 lung removal, which followed his diagnosis with mesothelioma. John, seen here at age 67, is from Stevensville, Ontario, and was exposed to asbestos during a renovation near his office in Windsor, Ontario, in the 1980s. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
Asbestos tailings from the mining of chrysotile asbestos, a.k.a. white asbestos, seen in the city of Thetford Mines in Quebec, Canada.From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
Blayne Kinart kissing his daughter Shari goodbye after a visit to his house. Blayne Kinart is a former millwright who is dying from mesothelioma, a cancer solely associated with asbestos exposure. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
58-year-old Blayne Kinart, a former millwright who is dying from mesothelioma, a cancer solely associated with asbestos exposure, standing in his living room in Sarnia, Ontario, 2003. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
The town of Black Lake, Quebec, now a part of Thetford Mines, is surrounded by tailings and residue from the mining of chrysotile asbestos. Up to 300 million tons of this residue has been abandoned by mining operations throughout the region. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
Workers outside an auto parts plant in New Delhi, India, that uses asbestos in the manufacture of car components. These workers wear no safety equipment while working and have no access to any equipment to prevent the inhalation of dust and asbestos. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
A man adjusts asbestos cement roof tiles on a house in a poor rural community on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India. This entire community is built on top of—and from—the asbestos scraps from decades of production at a nearby cement plant. This man broke numerous pieces of roof tile containing asbestos wearing no protection. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
A woman comforts her baby outside her home, which is made from broken asbestos roof tiles in a poor rural community on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India. Almost every single residence in this and many villages and cities like this throughout India have asbestos cement products in them. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019) by Louie Palu
Raghunath Manwar examines an X-ray of one of several workers who has been diagnosed with asbestosis in Ahmedabad, India. Raghunath is the secretary of an NGO, the Occupational Health and Safety Association, that assists employees affected by asbestos from a power-generating company and a cement factory. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
The scar on John Nolan's back from a 2014 lung removal, which followed his diagnosis with mesothelioma. John, seen here at age 67, is from Stevensville, Ontario, and was exposed to asbestos during a renovation near his office in Windsor, Ontario, in the 1980s. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
Asbestos tailings from the mining of chrysotile asbestos, a.k.a. white asbestos, seen in the city of Thetford Mines in Quebec, Canada.From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
Blayne Kinart kissing his daughter Shari goodbye after a visit to his house. Blayne Kinart is a former millwright who is dying from mesothelioma, a cancer solely associated with asbestos exposure. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
58-year-old Blayne Kinart, a former millwright who is dying from mesothelioma, a cancer solely associated with asbestos exposure, standing in his living room in Sarnia, Ontario, 2003. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
The town of Black Lake, Quebec, now a part of Thetford Mines, is surrounded by tailings and residue from the mining of chrysotile asbestos. Up to 300 million tons of this residue has been abandoned by mining operations throughout the region. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
Workers outside an auto parts plant in New Delhi, India, that uses asbestos in the manufacture of car components. These workers wear no safety equipment while working and have no access to any equipment to prevent the inhalation of dust and asbestos. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
A man adjusts asbestos cement roof tiles on a house in a poor rural community on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India. This entire community is built on top of—and from—the asbestos scraps from decades of production at a nearby cement plant. This man broke numerous pieces of roof tile containing asbestos wearing no protection. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
A woman comforts her baby outside her home, which is made from broken asbestos roof tiles in a poor rural community on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India. Almost every single residence in this and many villages and cities like this throughout India have asbestos cement products in them. From the book A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019). Image: © Louie Palu/ZUMA Press
A Field Guide to Asbestos (Yoffy Press 2019) by Louie Palu

Following the immense popularity of the April release of A Field Guide to Asbestos by Louie Palu, Yoffey Press is publishing a second edition of the book in June. Available for pre-sale now, A Field Guide to Asbestos documents the devastating effects of this industrial poison on people and the landscape in the U.S., U.K., Canada and India. 

Created over the course of 15 years, Palu’s investigative work is a window into the lives of people living with mesothelioma. Palu has reported on asbestos in India, shipyards in Scotland, and ground zero in New York City where the collapse of the World Trade Center resulted in the release of hundreds of tons of this known carcinogen on an entire city.

An artist’s book designed after an industrial manual, A Field Guide to Asbestos was created to help workers understand the dangers of asbestos. In addition to the photographs, the book features easily digestible facts and graphics that highlight the key issues around asbestos, as well as visuals explaining safety measures in the presence of the toxin.

A Field Guide to Asbestos shows that asbestos is not an issue of the past, though many believe it is. The use of asbestos continues to cause illness, death and environmental havoc. Palu’s work gives a face to the statistics and visualizes the human tragedy associated with those affected.

A Field Guide to Asbestos
Second Edition
By Louie Palu
Yoffy Press

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