17:00 - 19:30, International Conference Hall
Plenary Session 3
Empowerment of Victims and Their Families
Chairs: Natori Yuji and Annie Debaud-Mony
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Roch Lanthier
The Asbestos Victims Association of Quebec (AVAQ), Canada
ABSTRACT
A) PRESENTATION OF AVAQ
B) ENVIRONMENTAL PREVENTION
1) Environmental situation
2) Sampling of the quality of air
3) Pollution control
C) ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIO-ECONOMIC REGENERATION
A) The Asbestos Victims' Association of Quebec (AVAQ) was founded to help asbestos victims and their families with medical, legal, environmental and personal issues, to make the population more aware of the situation through the media, and to develop alliances with other groups. AVAQ proposes an international moratorium on the use and production of asbestos until a really safe way of using it can be found and applied everywhere.
B-1) The most important asbestos-mining area in Canada is situated in the province of Quebec, in the city of Thetford Mines and its surroundings. In an area of roughly 40 km by 3 km there are more than 30 tailings dumps from both disused and active chrysotile mines. Soil tests show the content of these tailings is 10% chrysotile. Many houses are built very close to the tailings, sometimes less than 100 meters away, and residues from the tailings are widely used for landscaping.
Women of this area have the highest level of mesothelioma in the world, twice the second-highest level registered.
B-2) AVAQ feels this situation to be very worrisome. We have sampled the air in houses surrounding the tailings to evaluate the concentration of asbestos fibres. Twenty-eight samples were taken in 26 houses situated within one kilometer of the tailings. Out of these, 15 samples showed a concentration of chrysotile fibres higher than the AHERA criterion. This criterion is used in the United States for schools and public buildings. When it is reached, cleaning measures are taken.
B-3) Different approaches are being considered to control the pollution caused by these tailings. Four major aspects have to be taken in consideration: the stabilization of the soils, the disposal of the soils, the irrigation of the sites and revegetation.
C) Since the adequate regeneration of these sites would necessitate huge financial and technical resources, it has to be envisioned in the context of an overall environmental and socio-economic regeneration of the area. Focus should be put on high added-value income-generating projects in order to attract private and institutional investment. Other projects developed in similar situations have already proven to be very successful.