ADAO responds to Quebec govt.'s loan reviving the Jeffrey asbestos mine

Mining News  |  2012-07-05 07:40:30   |   By

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), representing thousands of asbestos victims, physicians and scientists around the world, urges the Canadian Parliament to oppose the Quebec government's $58 million loan guarantee that would enable Jeffrey Mine Inc. to open a new underground asbestos mine in Asbestos, Quebec.

WASHINGTON (Scrap Monster): The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), representing thousands of asbestos victims, physicians and scientists around the world, urges the Canadian Parliament to oppose the Quebec government's $58 million loan guarantee that would enable Jeffrey Mine Inc. to open a new underground asbestos mine in Asbestos, Quebec.

Although, the company's present open-pit mine has run out of asbestos, with this government subsidy, the Jeffrey Mine will be able to export 200,000 tons of asbestos - a well-documented, highly carcinogenic toxin - annually to developing countries for the next quarter of a century.

Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and there is no safe level of exposure. The World Health Organization estimates the mineral, regardless of the type, causes 107,000 preventable deaths each year around the world. No reputable health agency has ever identified a concentration of asbestos that will not negatively affect health.

These agencies include the U.S. Surgeon General, Environmental Protection Agency, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, and International Programme for Chemical Safety.

Over 55 countries have banned asbestos. Although asbestos has not been mined in the United States since 2002, exposure continues as we do not ban the import of the mineral. The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported, 'the United States is dependent on imports to meet manufacturing needs. Asbestos consumption in the United States was estimated to be 1,100 tons, based on asbestos imports through July 2011. Roofing products were estimated to account for about 60% of U.S. Consumption.'

'ADAO is appalled at the recent development whereby the Quebec Government has provided $58 million to jump-start the Canadian Asbestos Industry,' said Richard Lemen, PhD, MSPH, Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS (Ret.) & Rear Admiral (Ret.) and ADAO Science Advisory Board Co-Chair.

'After a century of knowledge concerning the health effects of asbestos and its devastating trail of disease and death around the world, such an initiative by Canada is a giant misstep backwards. By offering this subsidy, Quebec is endangering thousands of lives, both in Canada and worldwide,' he said.