A decision was handed down Tuesday at the Rotterdam Convention in Rome that confirmed chrysotile asbestos will be left off of the United Nation’s international list of harmful substances. This decision means that Canada, the world’s second largest producer of chrysotile asbestos, will continue to be able to export the harmful substance to developing countries. Despite information that exposure to asbestos can lead to health complications such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis, Canada still maintains the stance that the developing countries they export the asbestos to are able to manage and handle it in a safe manner.  

Back in 2006, Canada was the only western democracy to oppose the substance’s inclusion on the list of harmful substance. The Canadian delegation did not even participate in the meetings this year and, instead, got others to work on their behalf.

In the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Dr. Matthew Stanbrook likened the Canadian government's support for exporting asbestos to developing countries to the deadly arms trade. Moreover, Stanbrook said he was “deeply disappointed” with the results of the meeting. "This is something we hoped would be an opportunity for Canada to take a stand and make a decision that would benefit the health and welfare of people in the world, especially people who are in the developing world in countries least prepared to cope with the health burden that asbestos imposes everywhere that it's used."

During the 1970s, hundreds of men worked in Sarnia’s chemical industry in Ontario, Canada which thrived on asbestos during that time. It is here where these workers were regularly exposed to asbestos and, as a result of years of exposure, their lungs are now marked with pleural plaques, often predictors of asbestos-related diseases.

Each year, many of these men travel to Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, ON, Canada hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. It is here where radiologists and doctors are conducting an early mesothelioma and lung cancer diagnosis study. Researchers hope to predict the diseases that are sometimes linked to pleural plaques. Dr. Heidi Roberts, the principal investigator, says a person who is diagnosed early may be saved using surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Nearly all of the study's 766 participants are from Sarnia. So far, researchers have detected five cases of mesothelioma and two cases of lung cancer. The men with mesothelioma have since died.

One of the study’s participants, Bill Trenouth, has no idea how he was exposed to the dangerous material. And while most of the other men are in there 70’s and 80’s, Trenouth is only 52 and 7 years away from retirement. Yet, he is uncertain that he will live to see retirement or his children grow older.

Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, and his government are coming under fire for their continued exportation of asbestos.

Due to serious health concerns, Canada has lessened the use of asbestos products in their own country, but continues to be the world’s second largest exporter of the dangerous substance. Canada defends that they are exporting chrysotile, which is believed to be the “safest” form of asbestos, and they are exporting it to countries that can handle the materials in a safe manner. A report that will soon be published in the U.S. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine suggests that it is “embarrassing” for Canada to claim that asbestos can be safely exported to and handled by developing countries, when developed countries have experienced difficulties with the material. The World Health Organization disagrees with Canada as well. They feel that even chrysotile is dangerous because dust and fibers from the material can still cause lung cancer.

Even more disconcerting are the claims that Harper's government is "suppressing" a Health Canada report on the health dangers posed by asbestos and supporting exports of asbestos to developing countries. Speculation is that the suppression of the Health Canada report means the "best evaluation" of the dangers posed by asbestos will not be on the table at international meetings in Rome next week, where it is expected to defend Canada's controversial exports of asbestos. Instead, the Harper government is expected to send a delegation to argue against putting asbestos on a United Nations watch list of dangerous substances and to defend continued asbestos exports.

In March, leading Canadian researchers submitted a report to the government on the cancer risks linked to asbestos.  Upon submitting the document, they were told the report would be available to the public within weeks.  Months later, it remains unreleased.  

Two of the researchers have written letters criticizing the government's delay.   Health Minister Tony Clement's office claims report will be made public once his officials have reviewed it. "It is simply unacceptable for this report to continue to be withheld from the public, while individuals who have seen the report and our comments make erroneous allegations about what it contains to suit their political objectives," wrote one of the researchers.

Canada is the only developed nation still producing asbestos; they sell the material to developing countries like Indonesia and Pakistan. The study takes no official position on an asbestos ban, but it clearly delineates the causality between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. On the side, one researcher stated that safe use of asbestos is "simply not possible."

Quebec, which contains Canada's two asbestos mines, has one of the highest mesothelioma rates in the world. Click here to learn more.

The United States and Canada are two of very few countries which have not yet outlawed asbestos.  But formative plans in Canada reveal that steps are being taken towards a comprehensive ban.

Unions in British Columbia are urging Parliament to endorse a New Democratic Party plan to prohibit the use of the toxin in Canada.  The plan includes phasing out the use and export of asbestos, as well as providing assistance to asbestos miners in Canada.  Over the next 5 years, 1500 British Columbia miners are expected to die of mesothelioma or other asbestos-related complications, so supporters are pushing fervently for immediate action.  For the complete story, click here.