Canada to stop opposing listing asbestos as hazardous
by Randall Palmer

Reuters    Translate This Article
14 September 2012

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada dropped its longtime opposition on Friday to the international listing of asbestos as a hazardous material, a designation intended to curb the use abroad of the fire-resistant substance, which can cause cancer and other illnesses.

Canada had been the main opponent of such a listing, which would require exporters to warn importing countries of the hazards of asbestos, and would allow countries to ban its import. The listing would not of itself ban its sale.

Industry Minister Christian Paradis said he made the decision as a logical consequence of plans by Quebec's provincial premier-designate, Pauline Marois, effectively to end the production of the substance. Quebec is the only place in Canada where it's produced.

Canada had long worked against the listing under the United Nations' Rotterdam Convention, fearful that it would put Quebec asbestos mining out of business.

'It would be illogical for Canada to oppose the inclusion of chrysotile (asbestos) in...the Rotterdam Convention when Quebec, the only province that produces chrysotile, will prohibit its exploitation,' Paradis said.

He made the announcement in Thetford Mines, his birthplace in the heart of his electoral district, and once a huge player in asbestos production.

Canada has been the only Western developed country to export asbestos, which is estimated to kill more than 100,000 people around the world every year. It had continued to export it even though it strictly regulated its use domestically.

From 1900 through 2003, it accounted for one-third of all worldwide production of all types of asbestos, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Only Kazakhstan and Russia collectively produced more.

But asbestos production had been dwindling in Canada. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it dropped to fifth on the list of asbestos producers in 2011, with production less than a third of what it had been five years previously.

Only six countries were producing quantifiable amounts of asbestos last year: Brazil, Canada, China, India, Kazakhstan and Russia. It is still used to strengthen cement products and roof shingles, and the industry says those uses are safe.

Successive Canadian governments had refused to step in and ban asbestos production, arguing that if used appropriately it was not harmful, but they were embarrassed at international meetings when they defended its use.

The outgoing Liberal government in Quebec had announced a C$58 million ($60 million) loan to restart the Jeffrey Mine, which would have been the only active asbestos mine in the province, but the incoming Parti Quebecois, elected on September 4, has pledged to cancel that loan, with the resulting end of asbestos output in Canada.

(Additional reporting by Ben Berkowitz in Boston and Louise Egan in Ottawa; Editing by Frank McGurty; and Peter Galloway)

© Copyright 2012 Reuters

Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. 'Reuters' and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies. For additional information on other Reuters media services please visit reuters.com/newsagency.

Every day Global Good News documents the rise of a better quality of life dawning in the world from good news reported by the press; and highlights the need for introducing Natural Law based-Total Knowledge based-programmes to bring the support of Nature to every individual, raise the quality of life of every society, and create a lasting state of world peace.



Translation software is not perfect; however if you would like to try it, you can translate this page using:

(Google) Select a language English to Afrikaans English to Albanian English to Arabic English to Belarusian English to Bulgarian English to Catalan English to Chinese (Simplified) English to Chinese (Traditional) English to Croatian English to Czech English to Danish English to Dutch English to Estonian English to Filipino English to Finnish English to French English to Galician English to German English to Greek English to Hebrew English to Hindi English to Hungarian English to Icelandic English to Indonesian English to Irish English to Italian English to Japanese English to Korean English to Latvian English to Lithuanian English to Macedonian English to Malay English to Maltese English to Norwegian English to Persian English to Polish English to Portuguese English to Romanian English to Russian English to Serbian English to Slovak English to Slovenian English to Spanish English to Swahili English to Swedish English to Thai English to Turkish English to Ukrainian English to Vietnamese English to Welsh English to Yiddish

(Altavista babelfish) Select a languageEnglish to Chinese-simpEnglish to Chinese-tradEnglish to DutchEnglish to PortugueseEnglish to FrenchEnglish to GermanEnglish to GreekEnglish to ItalianEnglish to JapaneseEnglish to KoreanEnglish to RussianEnglish to Spanish

Send Good News to Global Good News.

Your comments.