Canada still exports asbestos, but mostly for Third World construction

Asbestos is back in the news as efforts are made by a United Nations agency to add the chrysotile variety of asbestos to the world’s list of most hazardous substances.

Chrysotile is the only type of asbestos still sold on the world market and it is mined in Quebec. The mine provides about 700 jobs in Thetford Mines, where it is located.

Asbestos was welcomed as a wonder mineral when it was first mined. It had excellent insulating and fireproof properties. It was used in the construction of buildings in Canada for about 30 years, starting in the 1950s.

The mineral was then identified as a health hazard, particularly because of its cancer-causing characteristics. It was eventually labelled a hazardous substance.

The effects of breathing in asbestos fibres emerge only over many years. The effects often strike retirees long after they’ve inhaled the asbestos fibres.

It may take as long as 40 years for the cancer to develop. The cancers linked to asbestos exposure are mesothelioma, asbestosis and other lung cancers.

In Canada, at the moment, there is a growth of such cancers as exposures from 15 to 30 or 40 years ago finally affect the health of those who were exposed earlier.

The number of new cases annually in Canada of mesothelioma grew by 67 per cent over the past 15 years. Deaths from asbestos exposure in Canada are growing each year, and it is expected that they will continue to increase over the next five years, before levelling off or declining.

Within Quebec, the workplace safety board lists asbestos-related diseases as the top occupational health hazard in the province. Over the first seven months of 2009, illnesses related to asbestos exposure were responsible for 61 of the 104 reported occupational deaths in the province.

The World Health Organization estimates that asbestos causes 90,000 preventable deaths each year around the world.

Little asbestos is used in wealthy countries now, and many nations ban it because of the health and liability risks. It is banned in Canada.

Most of Quebec’s production is exported to the developing world for use as an inexpensive additive to strengthen cement building products.

A recent report commissioned by Health Canada has just been released. Dr. Trevor Ogden, a British expert on asbestos hazards, headed an expert panel that wrote the report. The panel found that it is more hazardous to use asbestos in construction than it is to mine it.

There are precautions for construction workers that may alleviate the exposure that will eventually result in cancer developing. However, there are questions as to whether these precautions are followed in the Third World.

Although the link between asbestos and cancer is accepted internationally, the Canadian government has shown reluctance to tackle the issue, given that the only mine in Canada is in Quebec.

In 2008, Canada’s $100 million asbestos industry exported 175,000 tonnes of the chrysotile type of the mineral – almost all of it to developing nations. Some of the biggest importers include India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

As I recall in the late 1970s, there was a panic over the discovery of asbestos in the Centennial Building. Brenda Robertson, the minister of health at the time, immediately shut the building down. After a week, she reluctantly had to open the building again because the provincial government was unable to function. A major cleanup ensued as areas in the building were isolated and the asbestos removed.

As death rates due to asbestos rise in Canada, Ottawa’s support of exports is problematic. The federal government maintains that chrysotile is less potent than other types of asbestos and insists that it is not dangerous when precautions are taken. Only time will tell if this assessment is correct. – Jo-Ann Fellows, Published Tuesday February 9th, 2010, http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/948385

Jo-Ann Fellows is a writer with an interest in health care. She lives in Fredericton. Her column appears every other Tuesday. Send comments to letters@dailygleaner.com.