28 November 2003 – Canada's decision to postpone a decision on the chrysotile form of asbestos being added to an international list that would regulate its import and export across the globe could signal a problem for the regulation of economically valuable substances under the Rotterdam Convention.

Developed and developing countries met in Geneva this week to discuss the Rotterdam Convention and decide whether all forms of asbestos and two hazardous pesticides should be added to the list of chemicals which must receive prior informed consent (PIC) of the receiving country before they are exported. This would mean that a country would need to give explicit permission to have these substances imported.

Canada's vote against the chrysotile form of asbestos being added to the PIC list was backed by Russia, the Ukraine, China, India, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, South Africa and Columbia.

It flies in the face of advice issued by the Convention's Interim Chemical Review Committee, which, in 2001, recommended that all types of asbestos - amosite, actinolite, anthophyllite, tremolite and chrysotile - be added to the list. The meeting backed the accession of four other types of asbestos and two hazardous chemicals, including the insecticide DNOC, onto the list. The sixth type of asbestos, crocidolite, is already listed.

The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for certain Harzardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade aims to protect consumers, worker and the environment, according to the UNEP. Many banned or restricted substances in the developing world are still being used in developing countries - the Convention aims to make the trading and information about these chemicals more transparent.

The Convention will enter into force in February next year, but the decision on whether chrysotile will be added will be taken at a future date. It is the first time a vote has been taken on an economically valuable chemical, a UNEP spokesperson told edie.

Canada said it still needs to have more internal consultation on the issue and Russia questioned the science, which advised the chemical's placement onto the list. "There are other economically valuable chemicals which we want to add to the PIC list - however if the future vote on chrysotile does not go our way then we could have a problem for these types of substances generally," the spokesperson said.

Chrysotile is the most widely used and most carcinogenic version of asbestos, a spokesperson from WWF told edie.

Clifton Curtis, Director of WWF's global toxics programme told edie that Canada and the opposing countries had violated the Convention by their delaying tactics. "Chrysotile unequivocally met the convention's requirements and those governments opposing its listing blatantly disregarded their treaty obligations.

The Convention does not aim to ban these substances just create a transparency on their transportation. If we can't take action on chrysotile then what does that mean for other chemical?" he said.