Cancer society calls on Ottawa to change tack and ban asbestos

Source: GlobeandMail.Com

The Canadian Cancer Society has announced its endorsement of a ban on the export of asbestos and is petitioning the Canadian government to stop blocking international efforts to halt asbestos use. While Canadian industry doesn’t use asbestos in many products, it is still an export product for the country – most of which goes to developing nations in the East. Last year, along countries such as Iran and Russia, Canada helped blocked asbestos from becoming listed in the UN’s “most dangerous substances” index. The Canadian government’s official position has been that asbestos, used properly, does not have to be dangerous to work with. The Cancer Society rejects the government’s official position.