Explosion prompts Canadians to voice asbestos disease concerns

November 3, 2009

After an explosion in Ottawa released asbestos into the air last week, many Canadians are taking a more aggressive stance against the country’s asbestos industry. The explosion took place at a steam plant in downtown Ottawa, and took the lives of two men when a boiler at the plant exploded. When the boiler exploded, the debris it sent into the air likely released untold numbers of tiny asbestos fibers into the air. The pipes at the plant were insulated with asbestos.

Exposure to these asbestos fibers can lead to mesothelioma later in life. Mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive type of cancer that can lie dormant for decades. However, once symptoms develop, the cancer has been known, in some cases, to kill within mere months of being diagnosed. The cancer has no known cure, but chemo and radiation therapies can help some patients.

Asbestos has been mined in Canada for decades, but in recent years the practice has drawn harsh criticism, as the health risks associated with asbestos are well known. The majority of asbestos mined in Canada is exporting to countries in the developing world.

The last asbestos mine in operation in Canada is located in the province of Quebec. Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters last summer he will continue to support the mine in Quebec.

But for anti-asbestos lawmakers like Winnipeg MP Pat Martin, the livelihood of a few hundred asbestos miners is nothing compared to the thousands of lives that could be cut short due to asbestos exposure. Martin knows the risk of asbestos exposure from first-hand experience: his lungs were damaged while he was employed as a young man in an asbestos mine. Claims that the “white” asbestos mined in Quebec is not a dangerous form of asbestos boggle his mind.

"That’s like saying landmines are safe as long as you don’t step on them," said Martin.