§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action is taken by the Government to ensure that developing countries are aware of the hazards of chrysotile asbestos and to discourage the dumping of this product in developing and third-world countries; and if she will make a statement. [104662]
§ Clare ShortRegulations prohibiting the import of chrysotile asbestos into the UK came into force in November 1999, meeting an EU Directive that requires all member states to introduce legislation banning asbestos by 1 January 2005.
We will support the European Commission's intention to propose to the Rotterdam Convention's Interim Chemical Review Committee (ICRC) that the remaining asbestos fibres, including chrysotile, be added to Annexe 111 (Chemicals subject to the PIC Procedure) of the Convention. If the ICRC are content, then the proposal will be discussed later this year by the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee that negotiated the Convention.