Lethal Trade
The World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization, along with the world scientific community are in unanimous agreement that chrysotile asbestos - the type of asbestos mining that the Province of Quebec is famous for, famously refusing to admit it is carcinogenic, and famously dependent upon a complicit federal government to support their mining and trade - represents a clear and present danger to human health.
It is a deadly carcinogen that should be banned.
Ah, but the The Chrysotile Institute begs to differ. And the Government of Canada appears to support The Chrysotile Institute's line that this type of asbestos is perfectly safe if 'used as directed'. That, when mixed with cement as is done in developing countries to make roofing for schools and houses, the asbestos miraculously 'disappears', and thus presents no danger to human health.
The Government of Canada hands over $250,000 in its latest budget to support the invaluable work of the Institute.
That's tax dollars taken from Canadian taxpayers to support the raving lies of a conscienceless industry insistent on saving its itself and the jobs of its Quebec workers, despite unassailable evidence its product is a carcinogen. And isn't it truly peculiar that Ottawa is itself busy earmarking millions of dollars in remedial work, removing that harmless asbestos from the Parliament buildings, mindful of the health of Members of Parliament and their staff?
The industry jobs being protected number about 550 in the community of Thetford Mines, long the centre of the country's asbestos mining industry. Asbestos use, long recognized as harmful to human health, has been banned in Europe and Australia; most uses also banned in Canada. While at the very same time Canada represents the world's largest exporter of chrysotile, exporting it to India, Indonesia, Thailand and other developing countries.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 125-million workers globally are exposed occupationally to the effects of asbestos, resulting in approximately 90,000 deaths each year. The Canadian Medical Association Journal terms Canada's insistence on mining and exportation of chrysotile as a perfectly viable and useful material "shameful, political manipulation of science".
The Lancet recently refers to Canada's "singularly malevolent role in promoting asbestos use in the developing world" in a recent review. One can only wonder how all these scientific journals and medical associations could be wrong, and the industry and its Chrysotile Institute, pledged "to foster the international implementation of the safe and responsible use of chrysotile asbestos" is self-interestedly right.
The industry whose value is about $100-million in export dollars, should be put to rest. It's abundantly clear from all respectable scientific sources that there simply is no "safe use" for asbestos. A report by a panel of international experts now in the hands of Health Canada (for the past year, they've forgotten its presence) finds, in the words of one panellist "My opinion, really, is safe use is a canard.
"We can't really believe that shipping these asbestos fibres to countries like India, that they're going to somehow magically use chrysotile in a way that is safer than we have in the West. If you look at our history here in Canada, the United States or Europe, we're currently still experiencing an epidemic of asbestos-related diseases that mostly happened 20 to 30 years ago.
"It does not really seem logical to argue that somehow these countries are going to have the kind of engineering that will allow them to avoid the hazards that we've experienced", according to Leslie Stayner, director of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Illinois School of Public Health.
Canada can't afford the kind of stupidity in refusing to face up to the truth that causes us to appear uncaring about the welfare of people living in far-off countries for the sake of a few hundred jobs, an industry impervious to criticism, and a waning reputation for responsible action. Asbestos should be given a proper and permanent burial.
It is a deadly carcinogen that should be banned.
Ah, but the The Chrysotile Institute begs to differ. And the Government of Canada appears to support The Chrysotile Institute's line that this type of asbestos is perfectly safe if 'used as directed'. That, when mixed with cement as is done in developing countries to make roofing for schools and houses, the asbestos miraculously 'disappears', and thus presents no danger to human health.
The Government of Canada hands over $250,000 in its latest budget to support the invaluable work of the Institute.
That's tax dollars taken from Canadian taxpayers to support the raving lies of a conscienceless industry insistent on saving its itself and the jobs of its Quebec workers, despite unassailable evidence its product is a carcinogen. And isn't it truly peculiar that Ottawa is itself busy earmarking millions of dollars in remedial work, removing that harmless asbestos from the Parliament buildings, mindful of the health of Members of Parliament and their staff?
The industry jobs being protected number about 550 in the community of Thetford Mines, long the centre of the country's asbestos mining industry. Asbestos use, long recognized as harmful to human health, has been banned in Europe and Australia; most uses also banned in Canada. While at the very same time Canada represents the world's largest exporter of chrysotile, exporting it to India, Indonesia, Thailand and other developing countries.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 125-million workers globally are exposed occupationally to the effects of asbestos, resulting in approximately 90,000 deaths each year. The Canadian Medical Association Journal terms Canada's insistence on mining and exportation of chrysotile as a perfectly viable and useful material "shameful, political manipulation of science".
The Lancet recently refers to Canada's "singularly malevolent role in promoting asbestos use in the developing world" in a recent review. One can only wonder how all these scientific journals and medical associations could be wrong, and the industry and its Chrysotile Institute, pledged "to foster the international implementation of the safe and responsible use of chrysotile asbestos" is self-interestedly right.
The industry whose value is about $100-million in export dollars, should be put to rest. It's abundantly clear from all respectable scientific sources that there simply is no "safe use" for asbestos. A report by a panel of international experts now in the hands of Health Canada (for the past year, they've forgotten its presence) finds, in the words of one panellist "My opinion, really, is safe use is a canard.
"We can't really believe that shipping these asbestos fibres to countries like India, that they're going to somehow magically use chrysotile in a way that is safer than we have in the West. If you look at our history here in Canada, the United States or Europe, we're currently still experiencing an epidemic of asbestos-related diseases that mostly happened 20 to 30 years ago.
"It does not really seem logical to argue that somehow these countries are going to have the kind of engineering that will allow them to avoid the hazards that we've experienced", according to Leslie Stayner, director of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Illinois School of Public Health.
Canada can't afford the kind of stupidity in refusing to face up to the truth that causes us to appear uncaring about the welfare of people living in far-off countries for the sake of a few hundred jobs, an industry impervious to criticism, and a waning reputation for responsible action. Asbestos should be given a proper and permanent burial.
Labels: Canada, Economy, Environment, Health
posted by Pieface | 6:14 PM
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