Asbestos

Asbestos

Since 2003, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ – Québec’s public health institute) has produced some fifteen publications describing asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases in Québec’s general population and its workers. The current state of knowledge leads to the conclusion that chrysotile asbestos is a human carcinogen and as a result, all the preventive and protective measures for the health of workers and the public must be enforced. However, the experience in Québec shows that there are serious difficulties in enforcing the recommended measures for the safe use of asbestos.

Additional information on Asbestos in Québec


Chrysotile: A proven human carcinogen

Several organizations, such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the Occupa…

Asbestos

Since 2003, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ – Québec’s public health institute) has produced some fifteen publications describing asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases in Québec’s general population and its workers. The current state of knowledge leads to the conclusion that chrysotile asbestos is a human carcinogen and as a result, all the preventive and protective measures for the health of workers and the public must be enforced. However, the experience in Québec shows that there are serious difficulties in enforcing the recommended measures for the safe use of asbestos.

Additional information on Asbestos in Québec


Chrysotile: A proven human carcinogen

Several organizations, such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the Occupa…

Presence of asbestos fibres in indoor and outdoor air in the city of Thetford Mines: estimation of lung cancer and mesothelioma risks

In the autumn of 2007, the Association des victimes de l'amiante du Québec (AVAQ – a Québec association for asbestos victims) and the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs du Québec (MDDEP – Québec ministry of sustainable development, the environment and parks) published studies on the asbestos concentrations measured in indoor and outdoor air in Thetford Mines. The findings motivated the public health authorities in Chaudière-Appalaches and Estrie to request the assistance of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ – Québec institute of public health) to conduct an assessment of the risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma of the pleura in this population.

Asbestos is divided into two families: amphiboles (crocidolite, amosite, tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite) and serpentines (chrysotile). The three main diseases associated asbestos exposure are asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma of the pleu…

Presence of asbestos fibres in indoor and outdoor air in the city of Thetford Mines: estimation of lung cancer and mesothelioma risks - Summary

In the autumn of 2007, the Association des victimes de l'amiante du Québec (AVAQ – a Québec association for asbestos victims) and the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs du Québec (MDDEP – Québec ministry of sustainable development, the environment and parks) published studies on the asbestos concentrations measured in indoor and outdoor air in Thetford Mines. The findings motivated the public health authorities in Chaudière-Appalaches and Estrie to request the assistance of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ – Québec institute of public health) to conduct an assessment of the risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma of the pleura in this population.

Asbestos is divided into two families: amphiboles (crocidolite, amosite, tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite) and serpentines (chrysotile). The three main diseases associated asbestos exposure are asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma of the pleu…

Asbestos: Current Knowledge on the Exposure and Diseases of Workers and the General Population in Québec from 2003 to 2009

This document reports on the Québec data acquired since 2003 on asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases, both among workers and in the general population. However, the aim is not to update the knowledge on asbestos as such. This report also summarizes the status of the Québec surveillance system for asbestos exposures and asbestos-related diseases, which will be introduced by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), as a result of the adoption of the Policy concerning the increased and safe use of chrysotile asbestos in Québec.

The most recent data (2004) on environmental exposure to asbestos in outdoor air identified no asbestos fibres in Montréal and in the city of Québec. However, in Thetford Mines, the average airborne asbestos concentration was 0.0043 fibre/ml (f/ml) by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This concentration was 215 times higher than that obtained in the air outside buildings involved in litigation regarding the re…

Descriptive Epidemiology of the Principal Asbestos-Related Diseases in Québec, 1981-2004

While awaiting the introduction of the future surveillance system for asbestos exposures and their related diseases, we created the descriptive epidemiological portrait of two of these health problems, malignant mesothelioma and asbestosis. It was constructed using the data from statutory databases available at the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux: the Fichier des tumeurs du Québec (tumour registry) for cancer incidence, the Fichier des décès (death registry) for mortality and the Med-Echo registry for asbestosis hospitalizations. Finally, the international comparisons of malignant mesothelioma incidence rates were made using the electronic database of the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The study area is the Province of Québec. The incidence rates, mortality and hospitalization at the regional level (health region) were compared. The time trends of incidence rates, mortality and hospitalization were analyzed. Standardized rates using the direct met…

The Use of Chrysotile Asbestos in Quebec

In 1997, in light of international developments with respect to asbestos, the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (Québec's department of health and social services) set up the Comité aviseur sur l'amiante (asbestos advisory committee) to make recommendations concerning appropriate measures for informing the public about the asbestos situation in Québec and protecting public health in this regard. To carry out this mandate, the committee conducted a number of studies. These were synthesized in three documents that may be consulted on the website of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) (De Guire et al., 2003; Lajoieet al., 2003; De Guire & Lajoie, 2003).

In 2002, the Québec government adopted a Politique d'utilisation accrue et sécuritaire de l'amiante chrysotile (Policy concerning the increased and safe use of chrysotile asbestos). As the name indicates, the objective of this policy is to increase the…

Asbestos Fibres in Indoor and Outdoor Air AND The Epidemiology of Asbestos-related Diseases in Quebec - Summary and recommendations of the reports

In 1997, in light of international developments with respect to asbestos, particularly after its banning in France, Quebec's ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (department of health and social services) set up a Comité aviseur sur l'amiante (asbestos advisory committee). The aim of this committee was to make recommendations about appropriate measures to inform the public and to protect public health in relation to the asbestos situation in Quebec. The advisory committee then created two sub-committees: the first to document asbestos exposure and the second to examine the epidemiology of asbestos-related diseases in Quebec. The sub-committee on exposure was mandated to assess the pertinence and the feasibility of assessing asbestos exposure in the general population, particularly in public buildings such as schools. The sub-committee on epidemiology was mandated to review epidemiological studies available in Quebec on mesothelioma, pulmonary cancers, and asbestosis; evalua…

The Epidemiology of Asbestos-related Diseases in Quebec

Under the auspices of the Comité aviseur sur l'amiante au Québec (asbestos advisory committee), the sub-committee on the epidemiology of asbestos-related diseases reviewed the available epidemiological data on these diseases in Quebec. The sub-committee also conducted various studies to fill in certain gaps identified during the analysis of available data. 

The findings that have been summarized here show a statistically significant increase in the incidence of mesothelioma of the pleura among Quebec men between 1982 and 1996. Statistical projection suggests that this increase might level off in a few years, but this is not certain. Quebec men and women also show significantly higher rates of mesothelioma of the pleura than men and women in the rest of Canada and in several other countries. This clearly points to the necessity of monitoring the evolution of this cancer in Quebec in the coming years, especially to see whether or not the increase levels off and to describ…

Asbestos Fibres in Indoor and Outdoor Air - The Situation in Quebec

In 1997, in light of international developments with respect to asbestos, particularly after its banning in France and the ensuing controversy, the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) set up a Comité aviseur sur l'amiante (asbestos advisory committee). The aim of this committee was to make recommendations about appropriate measures to inform the public and to protect public health.

The mandate of the Comité aviseur sur l'amiante (exposure measurement) consisted in assessing the pertinence and the feasibility of assessing asbestos exposure in the general population, particularly in public buildings such as schools. The sub-committee that was created to carry out this task first analyzed the available existing data from all areas. As early as June 1997, the sub-committee identified schools as priority action areas. The sub-committee developed a protocol and environmental assessment tools intended for all school boards and for the directions de santé publique (…