Ban all production and export of chrysotile asbestos

Our plain-English summary of Ban all production and export of chrysotile asbestos, by G. Paradis (Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique, 2010).

The study

• Author: G. Paradis
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
• Published: 2010;101(5):352
• Type of article: Editorial
• Language: French
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This is a one-page editorial by the journal's Scientific Editor. It reports no new research or data. The author described the issue's cover image: a child in Indonesia sifting bare-handed through a dump littered with asbestos, and two adults, one with a bag bearing the logo of Lab Chrysotile, a Quebec asbestos mine, looking for pieces of chrysotile-containing cement. The author wrote that an Indian group of investors had offered to save the Quebec Jeffrey Mine from bankruptcy. With a Quebec government loan guarantee, this could allow chrysotile exports to continue for the next 25 years. The author argued that the industry's claim that chrysotile can be used safely is a sophism, that importing countries offer weak or no worker protection, and that exposure of the general population is likely extensive and impossible to document. The author stated that Canadian chrysotile exports are directly responsible for the deaths and disability of thousands worldwide, but this piece gives no figures to support that. The author called on public health organizations and professionals, particularly Quebec's public health leaders, to unite behind banning the production and export of all asbestos.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Editorial (opinion piece by the journal's Scientific Editor), printed in English and French; no original research
• Who was studied: No study population. The editorial discusses a cover photograph of a child and two adults at an asbestos-littered dump in Indonesia, and workers and the general population in countries importing Canadian chrysotile.
• Exposure: Chrysotile asbestos exported from Canada, including chrysotile-containing cement used in construction in Indonesia
• Main results:
  • Author's statement (not a study finding): an Indian group of investors offered to save the Quebec Jeffrey Mine, one of the last chrysotile producers in Canada, from bankruptcy.
  • Author's statement: combined with a Quebec government loan guarantee, this could allow chrysotile export to continue for the next 25 years.
  • Author's argument: the industry's assertion that chrysotile can be used safely is a sophism.
  • Author's argument: countries receiving the exports offer weak or no worker protection.
  • Author's argument: exposure of the general population is likely quite extensive, impossible to document and to prevent, and likely to persist for decades.
  • Author's assertion, with no supporting data given in this editorial: Canadian chrysotile export is directly responsible for the deaths and disability of thousands of workers and citizens worldwide.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that public health organizations and professionals, particularly Quebec's public health leaders, have an ethical imperative to become more vocal and active against chrysotile and to unite behind banning the production and export of all asbestos.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Chrysotile.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Chrysotile.

Related studies

• Re: Paradis G. Ban all production and export of chrysotile asbestos [Editor's Page]. Can J Public Health 2010;101(5):352 — M. Greenberg (2011)
• Canada accused of hypocrisy over asbestos exports — T. Kirby (2010)
• South Africa's export trade in asbestos: demise of an industry — J.S. Harington, N.D. McGlashan, et al. (2010)
• Quebec stands firm on asbestos exports despite growing controversy — L. Eggertson (2010)
• Exporting death made in Quebec — G. Paradis (2010)
• South African asbestos: production, exports, and destinations, 1959-1993 — J.S. Harington, N.D. McGlashan (1998)

Browse more research in Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique, or return to medical research.