Asbestos News
IBAS decries Canada's heartless asbestos export policy
Coming on the heels of the Canadian government trying to increase asbestos exports to India, the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat has decried the attempt as not only dangerous but racist.Prime Minister Stephen Harper is reportedly trying to end tariffs on asbestos exports to India through the Canada–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. This would allow Canada to continue to ship a substance that has been proven for decades to cause malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.
"India is Canada’s best customer for chrysotile asbestos," Mohit Gupta, Coordinator of the Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India, said. "It is outrageous that even as asbestos removal experts decontaminate government buildings, schools and hospitals throughout Canada due to the potential harm posed by asbestos exposure, Canadian asbestos producers are ever anxious to send more of this substance to India."
The IBAS has said that this dual stance is racist because Canadians are protected by their government from asbestos exposure while that same government ships tons of the carcinogen to developing countries.
It is estimated that asbestos diseases claim the lives of 107,000 victims each year around the world.
12/8/11
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