Canada Continues to Export Asbestos

Chrysotile asbestos will not be added to an international blacklist of dangerous products and will continue to be traded by Canada to many developing countries. A recent meeting of international politicians failed to achieve the desired outcome and now many are angered at the lack of change.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was widely used in building materials mainly for its fire retardant properties. Most forms of asbestos are currently banned, however chrysotile asbestos is still being used by some developing countries in building products. The material has long been known to be hazardous, causing diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Diplomats met in Rome recently to discuss adding this type of asbestos to a worldwide list of hazardous products, however many developing countries that import the substance as well as major producer, Canada, blocked this addition.

Pat Martin, a politician opposing the use of asbestos and campaigning for its addition to the banned items list, said "I can safely say that the initiative is doomed this time".

The Rotterdam Convention, a 1998 document stating that all exporters of hazardous materials must obtain "prior informed consent" from their importer, is designed to ensure smaller nations are aware of the dangers of certain substances prior to accepting delivery.

Adding a substance to this list requires that all governments who signed the original document agree to the new addition.

According to Martin, the conservative Canadian government is the reason the ban was not passed. "Canada's defense of asbestos has nothing to do with reason or logic or economics. It's all about domestic politics," he said.

Quebec, the French speaking province of Canada houses the two main asbestos producers in the country and, according to Martin, the government will always appease them.

"They call asbestos the tobacco industry's evil twin -- they both survive on phoney research and intense lobbying and sell a product that's a Class A toxin. Not to put it on the list is morally reprehensible," he told Reuters in an interview.

"We have allowed commercial interests to take primacy over scientific opinion and that could spell the end of the convention," he said.

The next convention is scheduled to be held in 2011.

To receive a FREE Mesothelioma Web information packet** or to make a request, please fill out the following form :

**For a FREE information packet including treatments, clinical trials, and specialists, please complete the form above or call a Mesothelioma Web coordinator at 1-877-367-6376.

News

Resources

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here

If you would like to receive a FREE information packet or have questions about mesothelioma, call us at:

Toll-Free 1-877-367-6376