In the wake of a recent study that showed severe asbestos contamination in and around homes in a Quebec mining community, see related story, Quebec’s Ministry of Environment has announced that outdoor air sampling taken three years ago shows that the level of asbestos in Quebec’s outdoor air is within the standards used in Ontario. Quebec, where Canada’s asbestos mining industry is centered, doesn’t have its own standard for outdoor asbestos levels. The ministry has reported that the levels of asbestos found don’t create any health risk and the public should not be concerned about being exposed. But under United States standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, the levels reported by the ministry today would be considered dangerous and would require immediate cleanup. Canada is one of the world’s largest asbestos producers and does not regulate asbestos exposure as carefully as the United States or other developed nations. In fact, the Canadian government has invested heavily in promoting asbestos markets in the developing world. See related story
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