Canada Closing Its Chrysotile Institute, Signaling End of Country's Asbestos Industry

After a controversial run that began in 1984, the government-funded Chrysotile Institute announced its closing, yet another signal that Canada's asbestos industry will not be revived. According to the Montreal Gazette Sunday, the Institute published its intent to dissolve in the Canada Gazette, the official publication used by the government to announce new laws and make other announcements. The Chrysotile Institute, which originally was formed as the Asbestos Institute but changed its name to quiet critics, has been used as a mining industry advocacy arm to promote the safe use of this type of asbestos. Canada, which has more than a century-long history of asbestos mining and exportation, has been under pressure both nationally and internationally to stop promoting the use of this toxic mineral. The last two asbestos mines in Canada were closed in 2011, but there has been considerable talk of possibly reopening at least one, pending a government loan guarantee in Quebec. Although Canada has dramatically reduced its own consumption of asbestos in recent years, it continued exporting large amounts of the product to still-developing countries with less stringent regulations like India, China and others in Southeast Asia. In addition, the mesothelioma rate in Canada has escalated in recent years. Asbestos, which had extensive uses world-wide through much of the 20th century, has been proven to cause a variety of serious health issues, including mesothelioma cancer.  According t...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Asbestos Exposure & Bans Source Type: news