RightOnCanada.ca

Kathleen Ruff, RightOnCanada.ca

In response to a complaint, the journal, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health, has published Errata disclosing asbestos conflict of interest of the authors of three articles published this year by the journal. The three articles are:

• Critical reappraisal of Balangero chrysotile and mesothelioma risk, Ilgren EB, Pooley FD, Kumiya YM, Hoskins JA.

COMPETING INTEREST

Ilgren EB, Independent Consultant, has acted as consultant to companies in asbestos litigation.

Pooley FD, Emeritus Professor, University of Cardiff, has acted as a consultant to asbestos companies.

Kumiya YM has no conflicts of interest.

Hoskins JA has attended and spoken at several meetings on behalf of the Chrysotile Institute.

•  Further Studies of Bolivian Crocidolite – Part IV: Fibre Width, Fibre Drift and their relation to Mesothelioma Induction: Preliminary Findings, Ilgren EB, Van Orden DR, Lee RJ, Kumiya YM, Hoskins JA.

COMPETING INTEREST

Ilgren EB, Independent Consultant, has acted as consultant to companies in asbestos litigation.

Van Orden DR – has acted as consultant to companies in asbestos litigation.

Lee RJ – has acted as consultant to companies in asbestos litigation.

Kumiya YM has no conflicts of interest.

Hoskins JA has attended and spoken at several meetings on behalf of the Chrysotile Institute.

•  Kandovan the next ‘Capadoccia’? A potential public health issue for erionite related mesothelioma risk, Ilgren EB, Hossein K, Hoskins JA.

COMPETING INTEREST

Ilgren EB, Independent Consultant, has acted as consultant to companies in asbestos litigation.

Hossein K has no conflicts of interest.

Hoskins JA has attended and spoken at several meetings on behalf of the Chrysotile Institute

 Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health is the official journal of the Italian Society of Medical Statistics and Clinical Epidemiology.

The Chrysotile Institute, on whose behalf Hoskins has spoken, is the disreputable and discredited registered lobby organisation of the Quebec asbestos industry. It was closed down in 2012 when the Canadian and Quebec governments ceased financing the Chrysotile Institute in the face of strong criticism by health experts, human rights advocates and asbestos victims.

Although he does not disclose it, it seems that since 2012 Hoskins has been paid by the International Chrysotile Association, which, like the Chrysotile Institute, is based in Quebec. Hoskins spoke, for example, at the sbestos-promoting conference organised by the International Chrysotile Association (ICA) and the Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers Association of India in December 2014. Most of the funding for the ICA comes, it seems, from Russia and Kazakhstan, who represent almost 80% of all asbestos exported in 2014.