Our position on asbestos
All forms of asbestos cause cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society believes that all efforts should be made to eliminate exposure to asbestos and to eliminate asbestos-related diseases.
The Canadian Cancer Society calls for the federal and provincial/territorial governments to adopt a comprehensive strategy addressing all aspects of the asbestos issue, including legislation for worker safety, supporting the addition of chrysotile asbestos to Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention, and immediately setting a clear timetable for phasing out the use and export of asbestos.
More about our position
We believe that:
- Canadians must be safe from exposure to asbestos around mines and industries, in their communities, at home, and at work. Those working with asbestos, with asbestos-containing products, and in asbestos removal projects, should be made aware of the dangers. Stringent protection methods should be in place. The safest methods to remove or replace asbestos-containing materials should be used.
- A national surveillance system to track health outcomes of people already exposed to asbestos and all asbestos-related disease in Canada must be developed. Such a surveillance system will assess the extent of asbestos-related disease in Canada. It can be used to track health outcomes for those Canadians with asbestos-related diseases. This national system must be developed in partnership with all level of governments and public health agencies.
- A public registry of buildings that contain asbestos should be maintained. This registry should include buildings on aboriginal lands, privately-owned buildings and government-owned structures. In order to implement such a registry all parties need to be included. This will help to ensure that asbestos-specific health hazards associated with degrading structures are more quickly identified. It will also help ensure that removal of asbestos from these structures occurs with proper training and equipment.
- Individuals and communities affected by strategies to reduce asbestos exposure should have the resources to ensure ongoing financial stability. Individual Canadians, labour unions, producers, manufacturers and all levels of government must work together to ensure that solutions meet local needs.
- Countries importing chrysotile asbestos from Canada should be fully informed of the human health and environmental risks associated with its use. The Canadian government, for the first time, should support the inclusion of chrysotile asbestos on the Rotterdam Convention’s Prior Informed Consent list (The Rotterdam Convention promotes cooperation among 111 countries in the international trade of hazardous chemicals in order to protect people’s health and the environment.)
- Safer substitutes for asbestos have been identified. Though several substitutes have been identified as "low hazard", precautionary use of these substitutes should be implemented.
- Research into substitutes must continue in order to determine risk-free alternatives for all current uses of chrysotile asbestos (including, but not limited to, comparison between substitutes). There should also be continued research into how to further reduce exposure to asbestos in existing asbestos-containing structures.
- Information about treatment options for asbestos-related diseases should be made widely available. Continued research can improve the health outcomes for those people who have already been exposed to asbestos.