Canada may close its last asbestos mine

The Jeffrey asbestos mine, 1899. Photo courtesy of The McCord Museum.

Some hopeful news came out of the north yesterday: according to The Canadian Press, "Canada's last fully operational asbestos mine says it could be on the verge of shutting down, a closure that would deliver a major blow to the country's controversial industry." 

That controversy, of course, is over the morality of exporting a toxic product (raw asbestos and asbestos products) that government does not deem safe enough for domestic use but is safe enough for use in (according to mine operators LAB Chryostile's market profile):

·         Algeria

·         Angola

·         Argentina

·         Bangladesh

·         Brazil

·         Colombia

·         Cuba

·         Dominican Republic

·         Ecuador

·         Egypt

·         El Salvador

·         Hungary

·         India

·         Indonesia

·         Iran

·         Japan

·         Korea (South Korea)

·         Malaysia

·         Mexico

·         Montenegro

·         Morocco

·         Nigeria

·         Pakistan

·         Portugal

·         Serbia

·         Sri Lanka

·         Taiwan

·         Thailand

·         Tunisia

·         Turkey

·         United States

·         Venezuela

And yes, that is the United States you see listed. Our own questionable and complicated stance on asbestos is the subject for another post. The Canadian Press reported yesterday that

Quebec's LAB Chrysotile stated Tuesday that their asbestos mining operation could be forced to shut down in November for an undetermined period of time. Because the mine is currently embroiled in a [labor] conflict with its workers' union, it's unclear whether the threat is anything more than a negotiating tactic.

President of Jeffrey Mine operations Simon Dupere told The Canadian Press "We've given ourselves 16 weeks to deal with our [labor] problems," referring to the Nov. 13 deadline. "We're confident that we will succeed in getting past this -- and we will work together to make sure that happens." 

Mounting protests about the hypocrisy of the Canadian asbestos trade can be found on sites like Canada Causes Cancer and in the comment sections of Canadian newspapers and in passionate letters to the editor.


However strongly Canadians at large might feel about the Prime Minister Harper's support of the Quebec asbestos industry, there are still Canadians who support the industry, and many of them are in Quebec, near the Thetford Mines area.

A neighborhood near Thetford Mines is surrounded by mountains of "tailings", the name for waste from asbestos mines. (Photo by Half Zantop)

The long-standing knowledge that asbestos causes cancer has had little effect on the asbestos industry's exporting business to countries with more relaxed (or nonexistent) worker safety standards. But disagreements with unions may be the straw that breaks the camel's back, in terms of the many problems the Canadian asbestos industry faces.

Simon Dupere admitted as much: "There are personnel problems, there are mining problems, there are all sorts of problems -- it's a business, there's always something. [But] I am very confident in chrysotile, the market is there."

No doubt there is a market for asbestos in countries with little regard for public health. That's never been the question. The question is, are North Americans comfortable exporting mesothelioma? Whether a labor disagreement or a crisis of conscience causes the Jeffrey Mine to close down, it doesn't matter to me, as long as Canada stops its fatal exports.