The WTO asbestos case and its health and trade implications

Our plain-English summary of The WTO asbestos case and its health and trade implications, by B. Castleman (New Solutions, 1999).

The study

• Author: B. Castleman
• Journal: New Solutions
• Published: 1999;9(4):371-4
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This article was a commentary that reported no new data on asbestos exposure or disease. The author discussed Canada's World Trade Organization (WTO) challenge to France's complete ban on all uses of all types of asbestos. Canada argued that controlled use could make the remaining hazards undetectable and therefore acceptable. The United States sided with the European Union against Canada. The author doubted that controlled use could work in practice. The author noted that governments across Europe had rejected it for asbestos-cement building products, and questioned whether any government could make sure that tens of thousands of brake mechanics would stop grinding brakes. The author also acknowledged that strictly applied controls could reduce the risk to workers substantially but not eliminate it. In the author's view, the real target of the case was developing countries, mainly Asian importers of Canadian asbestos. The author also criticized the secrecy of the WTO process, the limited role of non-governmental organizations, confidential scientific advice, panelists who are not judges, and the absence of scientists on the WTO staff. A decision was expected in July 2000. The author concluded that the WTO had acquired too much power and lacked democratic control.

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: commentary / opinion piece on a trade dispute; no original research
• Exposure: asbestos in general, described as mainly used in building panels, pipes and vehicle brakes; no specific fiber types or doses studied
• Main results:
  • The case described was Canada's WTO challenge to France's complete ban on all uses of all types of asbestos
  • The author reported that the United States sided with the European Union against Canada
  • The author noted that governments across Europe had rejected the argument that controlled use of asbestos-cement products can work satisfactorily in practice
  • The author questioned whether any government could make sure that brake mechanics would stop grinding brakes
  • The author acknowledged that strictly applied controlled use could reduce the risk to workers substantially but not eliminate it
  • In the author's view, the real target of the case was developing countries, mainly Asian importers
  • The author criticized the secrecy of the WTO dispute settlement system
  • The author stated that the WTO employs no scientists
  • A decision in the case was expected in July 2000
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the WTO and its dispute settlement process had acquired too much power, operated in secrecy and lacked democratic control

Related studies

• Health and environmental consequences of the world trade center disaster — P.J. Landrigan, P.J. Lioy, et al. (2004)
• Health effects of World Trade Center (WTC) Dust: An unprecedented disaster's inadequate risk management — M. Lippmann, M.D. Cohen, et al. (2015)
• Health consequences of the September 11 World Trade Center attacks: a review — J. Moline, R. Herbert, et al. (2006)
• Public health advocacy strategies to influence policy agendas: lessons from a narrative review of success in trade policy — B. Townsend, B.F. Tenni, et al. (2023)
• Worker produced health education material for the construction trades — D.L. Roter, R.E. Rudd, et al. (1986)
• The asbestos case: a comment on the appointment and use of nonpartisan experts in world trade organization dispute resolution involving health risk — R.S. Carruth, B.D. Goldstein (2004)

Browse more research in New Solutions, or return to medical research.