A/HRC/45/12/Add.1 Canada has also taken action to prevent exposure to other substances of concern. For example, since the 1970s, various measures have contributed to a 90 per cent reduction in mercury emissions.15 19. The recent regulations restricting the use and export of asbestos16 and collaborative initiatives to protect workers from toxic exposure17 are notable. 20. The efforts of Canada to better understand the nuanced ways in which early-age exposure to toxics can affect health are encouraging. As has often been said, children are not little adults. The impacts of exposure to toxics during sensitive periods of development are unique and multifaceted. The silent pandemic of diseases and disabilities linked to childhood exposure adversely affects human rights at various stages of life, with profound economic costs, including in terms of health care and lost productivity. 21. Despite these efforts, problems persist. Canada had the second-highest number of known mining accidents during the period 2007–2017, a significant increase over previous years.18 Such accidents display only one avenue through which the rights of workers and nearby communities are threatened and, in certain instances, ignored. 22. The people and peoples of Canada are chronically exposed to a multitude of toxic substances; this can and should be prevented. Chronic exposure to various hazardous substances in Canada contributes tremendously to premature deaths and numerous diseases and disabilities. For example, exposure to just three anthropogenic air pollutants prematurely kills an estimated 14,600 people annually in Canada.19 In 2015, urban air pollution, including exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), accounted for 7,712 deaths and to health-related and well-being-related costs estimated at 36 billion Canadian dollars (Can$).20 23. Air pollution poses significant health risks to children in Canada, including adverse pregnancy outcomes in mothers and respiratory health problems.21 One study has found that vehicle emissions contribute to about 20 per cent of childhood asthma cases.22 Furthermore, studies suggest that there is a link between an increased risk of early childhood cancers and prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution.23 24. In 2011, occupational exposure to toxics accounted for 3.9–4.2 per cent of cancer cases, a significant contribution to the cancer burden of Canada.24 A 2018 study in British Columbia found that cancer caused more than 86 per cent of firefighter deaths and that firefighters were often exposed to toxic carcinogens from fire sites.25 Another study found strikingly high rates of acute myeloid leukaemia in areas highly populated by industrial 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/INAN/meeting-155/evidence. https://pollution-waste.canada.ca/environmental-protection-registry/regulations/view?id=150. www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/programs/consulting-integrated-strategy-protection-canadianworkers-exposure-chemicals.html. https://gridarendal-website-live.s3.amazonaws.com/production/documents/:s_document/371/ original/RRA_MineTailings_lores.pdf?1510660693, p. 27. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2018/sc-hc/H144-51-2017-eng.pdf; http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2019/sc-hc/H144-51-2019-eng.pdf; www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/air-quality/health-effects-indoor-air-pollution.html. www.iisd.org/story/costs-of-pollution-in-canada/. Samuel Koranteng, Alvaro R. Osornio Vargas and Irena Buka, “Ambient air pollution and children’s health: a systematic review of Canadian epidemiological studies”, Paediatrics and Child Health, vol. 12, No. 3 (March 2007), pp. 225–233. www.vchri.ca/articles/2019/07/03/1-5-new-cases-childhood-asthma-canada-are-caused-trafficpollution; Pattanun Achakulwisut and others, “Global, national, and urban burdens of paediatric asthma incidence attributable to ambient NO2 pollution: estimates from global datasets”, The Lancet Planetary Health, vol. 3, No. 4 (April 2019). Éric Lavigne and others, “Maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and risk of early childhood cancers: a population-based study in Ontario, Canada”, Environment International, vol. 100 (March 2017), pp. 139–147. www.occupationalcancer.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/OCRC_National-Burden-Report_2019.pdf. www.thesafetymag.com/ca/topics/occupational-hygiene/millions-of-canadians-exposed-to-cancercausing-agents-at-work/184489. 5