Canada Continues to Export Asbestos

Canada is standing in the way of a global blacklist of asbestos exports. But it’s not because of industry pressure. It’s because of domestic politics.

The Rotterdam Convention, an international treaty signed in 1998 to regulate the trade of hazardous substances, requires exporters to obtain "prior informed consent" from their importer. It is designed to ensure that smaller, developing nations are aware of the dangers of certain toxic substances before they must deal with the potential consequences of having the stuff shipped to their country.

The Convention meets every few years to discuss related global issues and to consider changes to the Rotterdam list. This year, asbestos opponents wanted to blacklist chrysotile asbestos. Again.

Canada, and some of its trading partners in the developing world, derailed the efforts. Since the Rotterdam Convention requires all signatories to agree to changes, all it took to block the ban was for Canada to refuse to sign.

Canada refused to sign.

The Canadian press and public health community has skewered the government for the decision and compared the asbestos trade with countries like Pakistan and Vietnam to arms trading. When the Convention last met, two years ago, Canada was the only western country to defend the practice.

Ironically, there are only two active chrysotile asbestos mines in Canada. Both are located in Quebec and employ a total of about 700 people.

"Canada’s defense of asbestos has nothing to do with reason or logic or economics. It’s all about domestic politics," said Pat Martin, a member of the Canadian Parliament who represented Canada at the Convention meeting in Rome.

The government will always appease Quebec, Martin said.

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. Exposure to asbestos has long been known to be hazardous, causing diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

The next convention is scheduled to be held in 2011.