Medical experts in New Delhi, India warned last week of the dangers associated with Canada's export of chrysotile asbestos to developing countries. In an article published in the December 14th edition of the Winnipeg Free Press, Dr. T.K. Joshi, head of India's occupational and environmental department, estimated that at least 100,000 factory workers and millions of constructions workers across India inhale chrysotile asbestos fibers every day. They do not wear masks or other protective gear and are generally too poor or uneducated to demand better working conditions from their employers.

Canada exports approximately 200,000 tons of asbestos per year to developing countres. India is one of 65 countries that import chrysotile asbestos from Canada. Canadian chrysotile accounts for one-third of all the asbestos in India. The rest is imported from Zimbabwe, Russia and Kazakhstan. The imported asbestos is used to make everything from concrete water pipes to metal roofing, with exports increasing in recent years due to India's construction boom. According to Dr. Joshi, very few Indian doctors are aware of the signs and symptoms of asbestos lung diseases like asbestosis and mesothelioma which is why so many cases go undetected and undocumented. Fewer than 30 workers have received compensation for asbestos-related health problems in the last decade.

In an effort to stop the spread of asbestos disease in developing countries, Joshi recently met with about 75 doctors from across India at a three-day seminar to discuss occupational health concerns like asbestos and mesothelioma, and to educate doctors about these diseases, as well as to pressure both the Indian and Canadian governments to ban the deadly material. Worldwide, about 100,000 people die each year from mesothelioma.