For more then a century, asbestos has been produced in the Canadian town of Quebec however the health risks associated with exposure to asbestos including mesothelioma and asbestosis have seen growing support for a ban on its production. Due to these health risks, the use of asbestos is already banned in 50 countries including Australia who implemented to ban in December 2003.
A positive move toward a total ban on the production of asbestos has been recently seen when the Canadian Government decided they will no longer fight international efforts to list asbestos as a hazardous substance under the United Nations Rotterdam Convention. If asbestos was to be added to the list it would require exporting countries to notify importing countries about the dangers of using asbestos and require safe handling and precautionary measures to be undertaken.
For asbestos to be added to the hazardous-substances list, all the relevant countries who have signed the convention must agree with the addition. This includes Australia who signed the convention in July 1999. Other asbestos producing countries such as China and Brazil have also opposed asbestos being added to the list however it was Canada who protested the hardest.
Considering asbestos is linked to the deadly cancer mesothelioma, the move to list asbestos as a hazardous substance seems inevitable as just another step in ensuring the safety of people who are exposed to it. Mesothelioma is known only to well in Australia, with hundreds of cases of this condition occurring each year. One only has to look at the Australia legal system to realize just how asbestos related conditions have affected Australians. Specific legislation has been implemented in numerous states, including New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, to assist those suffering asbestos conditions pursue an asbestos compensation claim in Australia.
