In spite of the now well-known health hazards of asbestos, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, the Canadian government continues to mine asbestos because of the economic incentive of selling the deadly fiber to developing countries. Canada is the second-largest exporter of the mineral after Russia. The world’s largest open pit asbestos mine continues to be operated to this day in the Canadian province of Quebec.
What’s more, unlike countries in the European Union, as well as Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia, Canada has not banned asbestos. Rather, the Canadian federal government actively promotes its use globally. In 2008 Canadian asbestos exports exceeded $92 million in sales – all to developing countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and India.
The World Health Organization has labeled all types of asbestos, including chrysotile, as carcinogenic. It is banned in many developed countries, including New Zealand, Australia and all European Union countries.
The Canadian government has actively fought to keep asbestos off a U.N.-sponsored list of dangerous substances. If included on the list, called the Rotterdam Convention, any country looking to import asbestos would be informed of all the potential risks and would have to agree in advance to accept any shipments.
Julia Langer, director of the global threats program at the World Wildlife Fund in Canada, one of the groups pressuring the United Nations to restrict the export of asbestos, said the move was despicable. Including asbestos on the list “could have saved a lot of lives,” she said.
In the most recent update to the Rotterdam Convention’s Prior Informed Consent list in October 2008, chrysotile was again left off after India, Pakistan, Vietnam and the Philippines objected. To be added to the list, consensus must be reached.
Quebec’s asbestos industry has moved up a notch with Premier Jean Charest’s trade mission to India, one of the biggest importers of Canadian asbestos.
Over 100 scientists from 28 countries have recently authored a joint letter to Quebec Premier Jean Charest calling for a ban on Quebec’s export of asbestos to the developing world
The industrial and medical communities have known for decades that asbestos causes lung cancer and mesothelioma in humans. The fact the Canadian government continues to mine and export this deadly substance to developing countries is appalling. New generations of unprotected workers in developing countries will develop cancer as a result of Canada’s actions. To learn more and to help stop the Canadian asbestos mines see www.bacanada.org