Vientiane Times – Thursday May 30, 2019….The Chrysotile Information Centre (CIC) has reported in a recent press release that the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 29 to May 10, 2019, had not added chrysotile to the list of restricted and banned chemicals in its Appendix Three. The press release noted that the Communicatuin Director of CIC, Mr. Maythee Uthayopas, said chrysotile’s omission from the list shows that ‘chrysotile’s safe-use is a fact, not a myth’. He is quoted as saying “Science has aslo confirmed that threr are huge differences between two types of asbestos: amphibole (blue and brown types of asbestos fibers) are banned in Laos, the import and use of chrysotile remains permitted across all ASEAN countries.  and there is no clear evidence of negative health consequences arising through exposure to chrysotile. The CIC press release noted that 10 countries expressed their opposition to listing chrysotile in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention. These countries were Russia, Kazakhstan, Syria, Zimbabwe, Kyrgyzstan, Venezuela, Pakistan, Cuba, India, and Iran. More than 140 countries use chrysotile in building and construction projects. The Chrysotile Information Centre will continue to promote safe and responsible use of chrysotile fibers in countries that need an affordable and durable product.