Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (Rotterdam Convention) is a multilateral treaty created in August of 2004.  The main purpose of the Convention is “to promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts among parties in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals and to protect human health and the environment from potential harm.” 

The Rotterdam Convention established rules to insure that importing countries are fully informed of potential hazards, including directions on safe handling, of listed hazardous substances. While inclusion on the Prior Informed Consent list is not the same as a ban on importation of the hazardous substance, it does impose requirements on the exporting countries to fully disclose the highly toxic nature of the substances and enables importing countries to assess whether they are able to use such hazardous substances safely.

Chrysotile asbestos, which is the dominant asbestos fiber still in use around the world, is not on the Prior Informed Consent list and repeated efforts to include it on the list have been blocked by a small group of countries, led by Canada whose industries are tied to Chrysotile asbestos use.

The most recent attempt to add Chrysotile asbestos to the Prior Informed Consent list occurred three years ago at the Conference of the Parties (2008) conducted in Rome. The vast majority of the parties, over 90%, support inclusion on the list. However, decision of the Conference of Parties requires unanimous consent. Thus, the several asbestos stakeholders are able to prevent the wishes of the majority from being implemented.

The next Conference of the Parties will be conducted in June 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland. The prospects of having Chrysotile asbestos added to the Prior Consent List remain poor as it appears that the Canadian government continues to support the asbestos industry and oppose any action under the Rotterdam Convention.