Posted on June 26, 2019
On June 28 and 29, the leaders of the G20 will be gathering in Osaka, Japan for the annual G20 forum, the world’s preeminent economic conference. The purpose of the summit, which is the culmination of a yearlong series of meetings, is to gather the world’s key economic players to address issues relating to global economic growth, international trade, and the regulation of financial markets.
While there will certainly be much talk about markets, labor and more, I feel it is important that these leaders speak about the fact that six of the G20 nations; China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, and the U.S.; are still mining, exporting, importing, and/or using asbestos, a known and deadly carcinogen
It is a known fact that there is no safe or controlled level of exposure to asbestos. Since 2006, the World Health Organization has recommended that the most efficient way to deal with asbestos and its associated risks is to stop using all forms of the deadly mineral. However, both the asbestos imports and asbestos-linked deaths increased largely in the U.S. in 2018.
As the G20 leaders gather in Japan to address the world’s most pressing issues, the ban asbestos movement stands together urging China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, and the U.S. to ban asbestos now. It is time to join over 70 countries who have already banned the lethal carcinogen, and ban asbestos mining and imports in order to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Linda Reinstein