Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

“It’s unacceptable for chrysotile asbestos to once again escape the regulator mechanisms for hazardous substances…the lives of hundreds of thousands are at risk, as is the credibility of the convention,” said ETUC Confederal Secretary Walter Cerfeda, who oversees the organization’s occupational health and safety initiative. The mesothelioma attorneys at Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason urge the public to take action in November, which is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and become educated on the risks and prevention of all lung-related diseases. These include mesothelioma, a deadly and fatal cancer that is often diagnosed years after exposure, and is difficult and painful to treat. The Rotterdam Convention, which was formed in 1998, has 126 member countries including Canada, the largest chrysotile asbestos exporter. A chrysotile mining facility in Quebec employs some a thousand people and exports 43% of its chrysotile to India, where it has been under fire as a cause of deadly mesothelioma, a fatal cancer of the lung. Canada also exports the asbestos product to Thailand, Indonesia and China. The contentious issue also drew the attention of the World Health Organization, which reports that some 100,000 people die worldwide each year as a result of asbestos exposure. ETUC experts believe 400,000 more people will die of asbestos-related diseases by 2030. Although the European Union has banned asbestos since 2005, ETUC claims that asbestos use in China and India, both of which import Canadian ore, has actually doubled in the last 30 years and accuses offenders like Canada and the Soviet Union of “offloading the risks to Asia.”