DOCTORS ALARMED BY LOOPHOLE ALLOWING USED ASBESTOS SALES

Public health advocates and environmental groups say Ottawa needs to close a loophole allowing the resale of second-hand products containing asbestos. Canada banned the cancer-causing mineral and products that contain it in 2018, more than 30 years after the WHO designated it as a carcinogen. In a July letter to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Friends of the Earth Canada and others say they’re still finding products that contain asbestos for sale online. That includes gloves, kitchen tiles and car parts. Environment Canada says the regulations are intended to prevent new products from entering the market and don’t apply to “legacy” items that were already in use before the ban took effect.