10:40 - 13:00, International Conference Hall
Plenary Session 7
A World Free from Asbestos Risks: the Future Strategies
Chairs: Temmyo Yoshiomi and Barry Castleman
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Laurie Kazan-Allen
International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), the U.K.
ABSTRACT
Although exposure to asbestos has been linked with a range of debilitating and fatal diseases, vested interests in Canada, Russia and Zimbabwe continue to maintain that asbestos can be used "safely under controlled conditions." In 2003, Canada orchestrated opposition to a United Nation proposal to include chrysotile (white asbestos) on a list of harmful chemicals subject to international trade restrictions. On June 6, 2004, the Canadian Government reaffirmed its continuing opposition and pledged to block the listing of chrysotile at the September, 2004 of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for an Internationally Legally Binding Instrument for the Application of the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.
Despite the long-standing collusion of global asbestos producers, asbestos victims' groups and public health campaigners have suceeded in over-turning years of industry dominance with the result that more than forty countries have banned or seriously restricted the use of asbestos. Unfortunately, as consumption in some countries has ended, in others it has increased. To prevent the transfer of "the killer dust" from the developed to the developing world, a sustained campaign to raise awareness of asbestos hazards is needed; working with international bodies such as the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization, the United Nations, the European Union, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Bank will maximize global efforts to bring to an end 100 years of asbestos deaths.