EDM 1170 - Controls on asbestos

11.03.2008
Clapham, Michael

That this House notes that it is some time since the Interim Chemical Review Committee (ICRC), a part of the United Nations Environmental Programme, recommended that all forms of asbestos should be subject to strict international controls to eliminate the risk associated with the material; is shocked that although white asbestos was nominated by the ICRC for inclusion in the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) list of the Rotterdam Convention its entry on the list was stalled in 2006 by national governments led by Canada; is concerned that some international trades unions have reported an increase in asbestos diseases in Latin America and Asia particularly India; believes that parliaments and their members have a responsibility to ensure that decent work for a fair globalisation includes the right not to be exposed to hazardous materials; and calls on the UK Government to take the lead in pressing for white asbestos to be included in the Rotterdam Convention PIC list as a prelude to a global ban of what has been called the most pervasive environmental hazard in the world.