There is global outrage following the Quebec provincial government’s decision to re-open Canada’s largest asbestos mine in order to export asbestos to India.
The Quebec government has agreed to lend over $56 million to the Jeffrey Mine in the town of Asbestos, which was closed in 2009 following an international campaign which protested the use of asbestos.
The dangers of asbestos are well-known worldwide, with many developed countries such as Australia and Canada banning its use altogether. Exposure to asbestos can cause asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma.
As such, exporting asbestos to a developing country like India is especially dangerous due to relaxed workplace safety practices, which could see asbestos being handled and used in a way that would expose workers to risks of asbestosis and mesothelioma.
Tasmanian Senator Lisa Singh, who chairs an all-party group on asbestos in Australian Federal Parliament, has met with anti asbestos activists in India and believes the Australian government should step in and demand Canada stop exporting a known carcinogen, white asbestos, to India.
India is one of the world’s largest asbestos consumers, and with the World Health Organisation estimating 100,000 deaths per year as a result of asbestos-related disease such as asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma, experts fear that exposure in developing countries will cause this figure to rise significantly.
Even though Australia has now banned the use of asbestos, many Australians are continuing to be diagnosed with asbestos related conditions due the exposure in the past.
