NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS LAUNCH CALL FOR A GLOBAL BAN ON ASBESTOS

Asian Journal, July 27, 2012 http://www.asianjournal.ca/july%2027_12/ot_head1.html

2008 figures for Canada’s asbestos exports show that almost 43 per cent of the cancer-causing material went to India

Stephen Harper shamelessly encouraging asbestos exports to kill Indians!

NATIONAL and international organizations that study the causes and prevention of disease epidemics this week called for a global ban on the mining, use, and export of all forms of asbestos. Their statement has already been endorsed by over 150 public health, civil society organizations and individual scientists from 20 countries.

“Continued use of asbestos will lead to a public health disaster of asbestos-related illness and premature death for decades to come, repeating the epidemic we are witnessing today in industrialised countries that used asbestos in the past,” said Dr. Stanley Weiss, Chair of the Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology (JPC-SE), which released the statement this week. The JPC-SE comprises a number of Canadian, U.S. and international epidemiology organizations.

“We call specifically on the major asbestos exporting countries – Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan, and Russia – to respect the right to health by ceasing the mining, use, and export of asbestos, and providing transition assistance to their asbestos-mining communities,” said Dr. Robert Hiatt, representing the American College of Epidemiology.

“The asbestos industry continues today to undermine public health policy by denying the overwhelming scientific evidence and promoting asbestos use in developing countries,” said Professor Colin Soskolne, PhD, past-president of the Canadian Society of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “According to the WHO, over 100,000 people around the world die unnecessary and painful deaths every year as a result.”

“With irrefutable scientific evidence of harm to human health resulting from exposure to all forms of asbestos, we considered it to be of critical importance to take a clear position in support of the objective scientific evidence that all use of asbestos should stop,” said Dr. Weiss. The 25-page statement, which details the latest scientific research, expresses “grave concern that the governments of Brazil, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam are recklessly putting their own and other citizens in peril by allowing asbestos mining and trading to take place.”

The statement urges countries to inform their citizens of the hazards of asbestos and to establish an inventory of asbestos already in place, particularly in schools where children are at risk of exposure.

The statement notes that the asbestos industry has used tactics of intimidation to try to silence scientists. It urges public health organizations to support the right of scientists and academics to carry out their work in the public interest free from intimidation.

SOME ASIAN JOURNAL WRITE-UPS ON ASBESTOS SINCE 2010:

* July 6, 2012:
Desperate Quebec Premier Jean Charest Is Going To Kill More Indians With Cancer-Causing Asbestos: What The Hell Are Cowardly South Asian MP’s Doing About It?

http://www.asianjournal.ca/july%206_12/roar_2.html

* January 27, 2012:
Deadly Asbestos: Contractor Jailed For 60 Days, But What About Prime Minister Harper And Greedy Businessmen?

http://www.asianjournal.ca/jan%2027_12/rattan%20roar.html

* December 9, 2011
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Christmas Gift To Poor Indians: More Cruel Deaths By Asbestos Exports

http://www.asianjournal.ca/dec%209_11/roar_2.html

* October 11, 2011
Yes, Mr. Baljit Chadha, You Are Exporting Death To India – And Shame On You!

http://www.asianjournal.ca/oct%2021_11/roar_1.html

* August 19, 2011
Harper’s Conservative Bullies Are An International Disgrace: Widow Of Asbestos Victim Should Not Be Harassed
http://www.asianjournal.ca/aug%2019_11/roar_4.html

* June 17, 2011
Harper, Stop Killing Indians With Asbestos!
http://www.asianjournal.ca/june%2017_11/main%20headline.html

* April 19, 2011:
Mr. Harper, Why Are You Killing People In India And Other Countries Around The World With Asbestos?
http://www.asianjournal.ca/apr%2029_11/roar_2.html

* September 9, 2010:
… And Back To Killer Asbestos!
http://www.asianjournal.ca/sep%209_10/roar_3.html

You can read more on this issue at www.AsianJournal.ca by typing in “asbestos” in the Google search box on the website.