Officials from Canada have recently announced their opposition to listing chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous material. This announcement destroyed the chance of reaching a highly-sought consensus at the Rotterdam Convention.
The announcement came the same day that India and Ukraine announced their change of position, coupled with Sudan's stance clarification, showing support for placing the substance on the hazardous material list.
Michael Stanley-Jones, spokesperson for the United Nation's Environment Program, clarified that under the Convention's current procedures, the material cannot be put on the unless all countries at the Convention agree.
The Canadian announcement spurred considerable backlash, both within the country and abroad.
Linda Reinstein, president and CEO of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) mentioned that she was not surprised by the announcement given Canada's track record for supporting the asbestos industry. However, she was still upset given the large amount of scientific data available and the vocal disposition of Canadian citizens to chrysotile asbestos.
Stanley-Jones did say that the Candidate Chemical Group is exploring ways to relax the rules, so that the group will not need unanimous agreement between all countries in order to put the material on the hazardous materials list.
Canada is one of the world's largest exporter of asbestos, so the fact that it doesn't ban the materials puts many people at risk, particularly those in developing countries where most of asbestos is exported. Workers in developing countries may not have proper training or safety equipment in order to handle the material properly. Also, rules and regulations can be lax in these countries.
Asbestos is banned in Canada, but 90 percent of the material produced is exported. Even though health organizations have called for Canada to ban asbestos and to stop asbestos mining, the current government has not agreed.
Exposure to asbestos has been proven to cause the deadly cancer, mesothelioma, among other health problems. When asbestos fibers are inhaled, they become lodged in the lining of the heart, lungs and abdomen, causing inflammation, which can cause cancer and other serious side effects.
Past efforts to put asbestos on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) list- which would strongly discourage the exporting and importing of the material- have been thwarted because a few countries have not agreed to put asbestos on the list. Canada, unfortunately, has been one of these countries.
Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were the other countries that did not agree to put the material on the list at the Convention. Sudan's earlier opposition came from a mistranslation from Arabic to English.
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LegalView offers information and support materials for individuals and their families' who have been affected by mesothelioma cancer. LegalView also offers information on a wide variety of legal topics including how to find a potential malpractice lawyer.
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