"Quebec Doctors Urge PM To Support Chrysotile Asbestos Regulation"

"QUEBEC – On Monday in Geneva, representatives of the 143 countries belonging to United Nations-sponsored Rotterdam Convention, regulating hazardous chemicals, are to begin a meeting where chrysotile, the type of asbestos fibre mined in Quebec, will be on the top of the list of new products to be regulated.

In the past, the Canadian government, allied with other chrysotile producers, like Russia and Zimbabwe, have blocked chrysotile’s inclusion in the Rotterdam Convention’s PIC designation – meaning prior informed consent must be given before such a product in imported.

Chrysotile is banned in the 27-country European Union and Australia and is severely regulated in Chile.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, 48 Quebec doctors involved in public health have called on Canada to support the recommendation of the Rotterdam Convention’s chemical review committee, calling for chrysotile asbestos be listed in Annex III of the convention."

Kevin Dougherty reports for the Montreal Gazette June 14, 2011.