Asbestos Legislation

Continuing its tradition of exporting dangerous asbestos to developing countries while regulating its use at home, Canada was recently implicated by doctors and health professionals for allegedly blocking an attempt to ban the carcinogenic material in Malaysia.

According to a release, the initial ban was proposed by the Malaysian Department of Occupational Safety & Health and was heavily supported. Despite this support, public relations giant APCO Worldwide was allegedly hired to attempt to block the asbestos ban, according to the health advocates.

"We are scandalized to discover that APCO’s undisclosed client is the International Chrysotile Association and to learn that this Association is incorporated in Quebec and linked to the Chrysotile Institute, the registered lobby group for the Quebec asbestos industry, which your government endorses and has funded with over a million dollars over the past six years," the advocates wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In the letter, the health advocates asked the Canadian government to stop supporting the Chrysotile Institute and to apologize to the Malaysian Department of Occupational Safety & Health for intervening with the efforts to ban asbestos, the release noted.

Health professionals support regulations restricting asbestos use due to the fact that exposure to the substance can cause lung cancer, asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that attacks the tissues surrounding a majority of the body's internal organs.