Finally we can put the asbestos story to rest. It took an upset election in Quebec to motivate the Harper Government to with draw its objection to naming asbestos as a dangerous and toxic substance. Now Canada's name may be added to the throng of other countries who signed a treaty identifying this mineral as hazardous to humans.
The new Quebec minority government made it's first strong statement that would withdraw the $58 million dollar loan to open a new asbestos underground mine. This clear direction came after years of the Harper Government supporting this industry internationally against all factual information and caused our country to be ridiculed by member nations of the treaty banning this substance.
Third world countries and African countries used asbestos in unsafe conditions causing thousands of deaths to working people handling asbestos. This is a victory for people power - who finally are heard.
Showing posts with label asbestos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asbestos. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Asbestos Re-visited
Canada's ugly little environmental secret is not a secret anymore. International pressure to stop the exporting of asbestos to Asian countries is growing. All the scientific evidence formalized the need for the stopping of the use of this mineral. In almost every country there is a ban on it's use but in spite of this Canada condones the export of this mineral to Countries in Asia. The untold deaths as a result is a black mark on the industry which produces it and the country which supports this industry.
Canada had the perfect opportunity to close this industry down as the readily available resource had all but disappeared. The two operating mines are near bankruptcy and their only hope of continuing their mining is if they get government aid in the way of loans, grants and loan insurance. Private capitol is not available because of the nature of the product mined. Now the ugly story is coming out.
The province of Quebec and their premier Jean Charest and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are about to rescue this killer industry. At stake are three seats in parliament. Apart from the moral issue of exporting asbestos disease for profit we as taxpayers might ask why two supposedly business minded politicians are risking public funds and Canada's international political capital to breath new life into an industry that has been notorious for its record of economic disaster and public health tragedy.
Premier Charest is about to loan $58,000,000 to develop an underground Jeffrey Mine that will produce and export 200,000 tons of asbestos yearly for the next 25 years to Asia and perhaps Africa. There are no regulations to deal with in this market. The amount of suffering and death will be enormous for decades to come. With Quebec providing the financing Harper will provide the international political protection to stop the industry from being regulated. Harper is the only Western political leader who supports asbestos and the only Canadian leader to do the same.
With the ruthless cutting of budgets supporting scientific research and aboriginal healing programs there was no cutting the grant to the asbestos industry [Chrysotile Institute ] lobby group. There was no hesitation with this grant in spite of the objections of the Cancer Society of Canada and numerous health experts. This grant is for $250,000 and is used to assure developing countries that asbestos can be used safely.
There are several disturbing facts about this whole mess. One is that the Quebec government studies show 100% failure rate to handle asbestos in Quebec itself. Another is that the exported mineral carries the logo of Canada on its products indicating it is endorsed by Canada. The third is the most troubling in as much as our Prime Minister has made a commitment to the industry that as long as he is Prime Minister he will support the export of asbestos and will block the UN environmental agreement, the Rotterdam Convention, so as to prevent chryostile asbestos from being put on the list for hazardous substances. This request has been made by the convention's expert body.
Blocking the Rotterdam Convention is a powerful gift given to the industry and one lobbied hard to our government with funds provided by public taxpayers dollars. If asbestos made the list as a hazardous substance every product would have to be labeled accordingly.
I am not suggesting that the Prime Minister is a genuine enthusiast of asbestos as his home at 24 Sussex drive is presently costing a small fortune to remove asbestos and his workplace the House of Commons also. I suggest his motivation is political and to win a couple of seats in the asbestos-producing region. Both the Prime Minister and the Premier of Quebec will be judged harshly by history because of their reckless behaviour. I would suggest if you are interested to talk to your member, and stand back when you get their take on this: Canada's ugly secret - ASBESTOS.
Some of the information I used comes from printed material I have read and some from public information. This is an issue that will not go away and I am dedicated to help it disappear.
You may be interested in:
Asbestos Exposure and Cancer Risk, National Cancer Institute (USA)
Basic Facts About Asbestos, Environmental Protection Agency
Canada had the perfect opportunity to close this industry down as the readily available resource had all but disappeared. The two operating mines are near bankruptcy and their only hope of continuing their mining is if they get government aid in the way of loans, grants and loan insurance. Private capitol is not available because of the nature of the product mined. Now the ugly story is coming out.
The province of Quebec and their premier Jean Charest and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are about to rescue this killer industry. At stake are three seats in parliament. Apart from the moral issue of exporting asbestos disease for profit we as taxpayers might ask why two supposedly business minded politicians are risking public funds and Canada's international political capital to breath new life into an industry that has been notorious for its record of economic disaster and public health tragedy.
Premier Charest is about to loan $58,000,000 to develop an underground Jeffrey Mine that will produce and export 200,000 tons of asbestos yearly for the next 25 years to Asia and perhaps Africa. There are no regulations to deal with in this market. The amount of suffering and death will be enormous for decades to come. With Quebec providing the financing Harper will provide the international political protection to stop the industry from being regulated. Harper is the only Western political leader who supports asbestos and the only Canadian leader to do the same.
With the ruthless cutting of budgets supporting scientific research and aboriginal healing programs there was no cutting the grant to the asbestos industry [Chrysotile Institute ] lobby group. There was no hesitation with this grant in spite of the objections of the Cancer Society of Canada and numerous health experts. This grant is for $250,000 and is used to assure developing countries that asbestos can be used safely.
There are several disturbing facts about this whole mess. One is that the Quebec government studies show 100% failure rate to handle asbestos in Quebec itself. Another is that the exported mineral carries the logo of Canada on its products indicating it is endorsed by Canada. The third is the most troubling in as much as our Prime Minister has made a commitment to the industry that as long as he is Prime Minister he will support the export of asbestos and will block the UN environmental agreement, the Rotterdam Convention, so as to prevent chryostile asbestos from being put on the list for hazardous substances. This request has been made by the convention's expert body.
Blocking the Rotterdam Convention is a powerful gift given to the industry and one lobbied hard to our government with funds provided by public taxpayers dollars. If asbestos made the list as a hazardous substance every product would have to be labeled accordingly.
I am not suggesting that the Prime Minister is a genuine enthusiast of asbestos as his home at 24 Sussex drive is presently costing a small fortune to remove asbestos and his workplace the House of Commons also. I suggest his motivation is political and to win a couple of seats in the asbestos-producing region. Both the Prime Minister and the Premier of Quebec will be judged harshly by history because of their reckless behaviour. I would suggest if you are interested to talk to your member, and stand back when you get their take on this: Canada's ugly secret - ASBESTOS.
Some of the information I used comes from printed material I have read and some from public information. This is an issue that will not go away and I am dedicated to help it disappear.
You may be interested in:
Asbestos Exposure and Cancer Risk, National Cancer Institute (USA)
Basic Facts About Asbestos, Environmental Protection Agency
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Asbestos
A multi million dollar road project has been put on hold pending an investigation about asbestos found in some of the fill used for the project. Small amounts were discovered by inspectors monitoring the project. Work was halted even thought the fill used was to be covered by feet of other material. For this action to be taken supports the idea of just how dangerous a commodity we are dealing with.
Years ago the use of asbestos was banned in Canada for building projects. Schools and other public buildings had to be cleansed of this material and huge amounts of money were allocated to this end. The very use of the word asbestos brought bad thoughts to mind because of the deadly effect it has had on people who breathed the deadly fibers only to find lethal results years later.
In spite of the evidence and laws banning its use in Canada the government turns a blind eye to the export of this commodity to other countries like India and China. In these countries there is wide spread use of asbestos as a hardener for concrete and building materials. Few or no special care is taken during these processes and workers are in direct contact with this material daily.
Perhaps the asbestos lobby from Quebec is so strong that it has become a political hot potato. With all conscience, to turn a blind eye there must be fear on the part of the government to lose votes if action results in dollars being lost to the lethal industry. This double standard is present in other policies where votes outweigh common sense.This is not a 2010 problem but for many years every government has neglected its duty to act and act responsibly.
The other issue is the tar sands and our greatest contributor to pollution and climate change. Since the USA imports 40 per cent of its oil and gas from Canada and Alberta fills its coffers from the royalties there is little incentive for the government to act in a responsible way. There is a huge lobby for lack of control in the oil patch and it is not likely to change. This is the reason Canada has eased up to the American policy on global warming and forsook its independent stand on the world stage.
These issues are not new but it would be helpful if our government would face these issues in the new year and bring about productive , creative resolution to an otherwise destructive situation
Years ago the use of asbestos was banned in Canada for building projects. Schools and other public buildings had to be cleansed of this material and huge amounts of money were allocated to this end. The very use of the word asbestos brought bad thoughts to mind because of the deadly effect it has had on people who breathed the deadly fibers only to find lethal results years later.
In spite of the evidence and laws banning its use in Canada the government turns a blind eye to the export of this commodity to other countries like India and China. In these countries there is wide spread use of asbestos as a hardener for concrete and building materials. Few or no special care is taken during these processes and workers are in direct contact with this material daily.
Perhaps the asbestos lobby from Quebec is so strong that it has become a political hot potato. With all conscience, to turn a blind eye there must be fear on the part of the government to lose votes if action results in dollars being lost to the lethal industry. This double standard is present in other policies where votes outweigh common sense.This is not a 2010 problem but for many years every government has neglected its duty to act and act responsibly.
The other issue is the tar sands and our greatest contributor to pollution and climate change. Since the USA imports 40 per cent of its oil and gas from Canada and Alberta fills its coffers from the royalties there is little incentive for the government to act in a responsible way. There is a huge lobby for lack of control in the oil patch and it is not likely to change. This is the reason Canada has eased up to the American policy on global warming and forsook its independent stand on the world stage.
These issues are not new but it would be helpful if our government would face these issues in the new year and bring about productive , creative resolution to an otherwise destructive situation
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