A worker grips a chunk of raw asbestos ore from the Bell Asbestos Mines Limited.
⬡ Photograph from the Canadian Archives; July 1944; Thetford Mines, QC.
In December 2016, Canada made a historic announcement: a comprehensive ban on asbestos. This decision marked a new chapter where public health was prioritized over economic benefits from this once-celebrated mineral. By October 2018, this ban was officially enacted through the Prohibition of Asbestos and Products Containing Asbestos Regulations, published in the Canada Gazette.
This regulation halted the use, sale, import, and export of asbestos nationwide, with the ban taking full effect in 2018.
Deziel Landry, a 17-year-old laborer, performs the sorting of asbestos ore at the Bell Asbestos Mines Limited company, 1944.
⬡ Photograph from the Canadian Archives; July 1944; Thetford Mines, QC.
Originally, asbestos was the ‘magic mineral’ cherished for its heat resistance and insulation properties, deeply woven into Canada’s industrial fabric. But as time passed, this ‘miracle’ turned into a significant health hazard, leading to a crucial regulatory shift.
Throughout the 20th century, asbestos was a star in building materials due to its durability. By the 1970s, Canada was at the forefront of global asbestos production, with major operations in places like Thetford Mines. Yet, the very qualities that made asbestos useful also concealed its dangers, soon altering its destiny.
View of 10-ton half-tracks hauling asbestos ore up the grade from the Bell Asbestos Company’s open pit mine at Thetford Mines, 1944.
⬡ Photograph from the Canadian Archives; June 1944; Thetford Mines, QC.
The journey to banning asbestos was slow. Early restrictions in the 1970s focused on products like drywall compounds. The closure of Canada’s last asbestos mines in 2012 was more an economic decision than a health-driven one, but it set the stage for the ultimate ban.
By the late 1990s, scientists declared: asbestos fibers undeniably cause severe health issues like mesothelioma and lung cancer. This research was the catalyst for Canada’s landmark environmental policy change, leading to the asbestos ban in 2018.
The primary concern with asbestos is the inhalation of its fibers during its handling or as materials containing asbestos degrade or are disturbed. The following health implications of prolonged exposure to asbestos are well-established:
⬡ Source: National Cancer Institute
Even though Canada officially banned asbestos in 2018, builders heavily utilized it before 1990, and now workers find it daily nationwide. Manufacturers embedded asbestos in a range from ceiling tiles to asphalt. It remains hidden in these materials, undetectable by the naked eye in most applications.
Since the 2018 ban, our asbestos testing laboratory has recorded a 20% rise in analysis sample requests. We are regularly amazed at the amount of asbestos we positively identify every year in a wide array of building materials across Canada.
Although regulations have tightened and training has increased for skilled workers, we still need to educate homeowners, landlords, and contractors on identifying asbestos-containing materials.
If you own property built or renovated before 1990, get it tested for asbestos before any renovation or repair work is performed. Taking this proactive step ensures safety for us and future generations from asbestos’s life-altering risks.
