MEDIA ROOTS- When it comes to foreign policy and trade, it’s common to see profits and revenue at the forefront of the discussion. For both Canada and the United States, the choice to put profit and revenue first is leaving people in developing countries with an increased chance of health risks.
The use of asbestos was common for many decades. It was regarded positively as a versatile product used for insulation and clothing material. Now, asbestos is recognized as the cause of major health problems like asbestosis and mesothelioma. The material was banned by the European Union, Japan, and Australia for any future construction projects after it was found to be connected to health risks. Now it can only be found in older buildings and structures.
Although asbestos isn’t used as a building material in most places anymore, both the United States and Canada continue to export it to developing countries such as India, which uses the material for construction purposes due to its low price. Canada is the fourth largest asbestos exporter behind, Russia, China, and Kazakhstan. Even though the US doesn’t mine and export this material directly the country does export and re-export asbestos fibers and asbestos based products. Throughout the past decade, the United States has sent hundreds of large vessels to India and other Asian countries to be scrapped. Most of these older vessels contain asbestos creating a high risk of exposure throughout Asian countries.
Certainly neither country should be sending asbestos out anywhere; they should instead be destroying these fibers, especially considering that both countries do not support use of asbestos within their own boarders. Many citizens of the US and Canada, as well as their medical communities, disagree with the exportation of this toxic material, yet businesses in both countries continue this unfortunate practice.
What makes this an extremely dangerous practice is that most of the countries that import asbestos are often poor, developing nations scattered throughout Asia and Africa. Given the correlation between asbestos and mesothelioma, the use of asbestos puts the people in these countries in risk of major health problems while they simultaneously lack the medical resources needed to treat such diseases. Without the type of medical care necessary for patients of these asbestos related diseases, the consequences in these countries could include people’s lives. The severe and low mesothelioma life expectancy proves further the danger facing these developing countries and their people.
It’s hypocritical that business leaders in the US and Canada export asbestos products to developing countries, while refusing their use for any domestic construction purposes due to health concerns. Both countries expend large amounts of resources every year through environmental initiatives aimed at removing asbestos from populated areas, yet promulgate its use elsewhere. It’s surely ridiculous that the product is seen as too dangerous to be used within the borders of either country, yet the threats it poses to developing countries are disregarded.
Canada, specifically, has come under extreme criticism for their practices involving asbestos. Awareness and disagreement are coming to the forefront through a number of media outlets. Hopefully this increased criticism will lead to changes regarding the hypocritical policy of exporting asbestos.
Written by Eric Stevenson
Photo by flickr user Marcin Wichary
