Canada continues to export asbestos to developing countries, despite limiting its use in Canada, write Dr. Amir Attaran, David Boyd and Dr. Matthew Stanbrook http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg871.pdf on behalf of the CMAJ editorial team. Canada is in fact opposed to placing chrysotile, the main asbestos fibre used today, under the Rotterdam Convention's notification and consent process, despite chrysotile being deemed a human carcinogen. The editorial concludes that "Canada should do its part in alleviating the global epidemic of asbestos-related disease by ending the mining and export of chrysotile, as the WHO recommends."
Contact: David Boyd, 250-629-9984, davidrichardboyd@yahoo.com
Canadian Medical Association Journal