Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Mesothelioma attorneys have been fighting for years to have asbestos banned because there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos, but the U.S. has yet to ban its use. The issue is expected to come up this week during the international talks in Rome about controlling the international trade in substances like asbestos that are harmful to human health and the environment. Some would like to add chrysotile asbestos to the most dangerous substances list. Canada exports 95% of the chrysotile asbestos it mines, according to the Ottawa Citizen newspaper. Asbestos, an odorless, tasteless and almost invisible fiber, can cause mesothelioma, a terminal cancer of the lung lining. Unsafe handling of asbestos can also cause asbestosis, lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma in the lining of the lungs. Several respected medical journals claim that the Canadian government has suppressed a Health Canada report that warns about the dangers of asbestos. Canada exports asbestos to developing countries such as India, Indonesia and Pakistan, according to the report.