Asbestos in Canada
For a country that contains a mining town with a population
of 5,000 named Asbestos, it should come as no surprise that Canada has
dealt with its share of issues concerning the mesothelioma-causing
fiber.
Regarding asbestos
fibers, Canada has been known more in recent years for its exporting to
a number of countries, including the United States. According to the
Ottawa Citizen, the U.S. imported $755,022 (in Canadian dollars) worth
of Canadian asbestos in 2007 alone. Other countries such as Kenya
imported smaller amounts ($4,600) during the same year, while Brazil led
the way as it imported more than $4.2 million in Canadian asbestos.
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While those statistics are a large part of making Canada one of the
world leaders in asbestos exporting, the use of asbestos products and
mining of the fibers has been banned throughout all of Canada except in
Quebec where mining and exporting is still permitted but use of the
fibers are not. However, some reports have found that allowing the mines
to remain open has led to an increase in the presence of asbestos
exposure and occurances of mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other forms of lung cancer.
According to Prevent Cancer Now, a report published in 2004 found the
mesothelioma rate among men living in Quebec was 9.5 times greater than
those living in the rest of the country, while the rate of mesothelioma
rate for women was found to be amongst the highest on earth.
With that in mind, a number of organizations including the Canadian
Cancer Society and the World Health Organization have stepped up efforts
to get asbestos mining and exporting completely banned throughout the
country in order to lower the risk of mesothelioma and asbestosis in the country while also removing an avenue for third-world countries to get asbestos and use it in new buildings.
An article published in The Guardian that profiled the town of
Asbestos, which is located in Quebec, found that town officials have
attempted to adjust its image from an exporter of the dangerous fibers
to a tourist trap, highlighted by the two-kilometer-wide Jeffrey Mine
that may be turned into a track for all-terrain vehicles and bicycles.