What's in a Name?

If residents of Asbestos, Quebec, are still considering a name change for their small town of just under 7,000 people they might want to consider something along the lines of “No Charity, Quebec,” or “Stubborn to the Point of Idiocy, Quebec.” The bumper stickers along would probably be a huge seller. And just think of the license plates. You see, some residents of Asbestos aren’t thrilled about their home sharing the same name as a carcinogenic previously used to insulate homes and hot water heating systems. Asbestos is still wreaking havoc on our lives because a) it’s still legal to extract and/or use it in some countries and b) it is in practically everything. According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation website, until about 30 years ago asbestos was used in “transportation and electrical appliances, frequently mixed with, and encased in, other materials. Asbestos has also been found in many products around the house. It has been used in clapboard; shingles and felt for roofing; exterior siding; pipe and boiler covering; compounds and cement, such as caulk, putty, roof patching, furnace cement and driveway coating; wallboard; textured and latex paints; acoustical ceiling tiles and plaster; vinyl floor tiles; appliance wiring; hair dryers; irons and ironing board pads; flame-resistant aprons and electric blankets; and clay pottery. Loose-fill vermiculite insulation may contain traces of “amphibole” asbestos.”

Asbestos used to be popular because it’s cheap and efficient. Then, some time during the 1980’s, people realized just how dangerous asbestos was, not only to people living in homes with asbestos stuffed inside their walls but also to those who were working at construction sites or in mines extracting the damn stuff from the earth. We now know that inhaling the particles or fibres of asbestos can cause several types of cancer including lung cancer and that the fibres stick inside a person’s lungs, causing irreversible scarring that can seriously impair lung function. According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website, “asbestos is one of the most important occupational carcinogens causing about half of the deaths from occupational cancer.” At least 90,000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases, according to global estimates found on the WHO’s website.

Extraction and use of asbestos is banned in the European Union. Canada also looks down on asbestos in theory, strictly limiting the use of asbestos within the country. However, Canada still allows for asbestos to be extracted here and shipped off to other countries that still use the stuff despite the known health risks. These countries are mostly third-world countries but economically powerful countries like Japan also use asbestos.

The asbestos business in Asbestos, Quebec, had been flailing. However, the industry is due to receive a boost in the form of a 58-million-dollar loan, which would go towards reinvigorating the Jeffery Asbestos Mine. If the mine operates at full capacity, it will save 450 jobs and potentially create another 300 jobs. The business of extracting asbestos is undoubtedly good for the town of Asbestos, hence the lack of a name change to date.

But the story of asbestos in Asbestos, Quebec, doesn’t end there. The town, which in past years seriously did consider changing their name to something with a better reputation, has not only chosen to continue producing and selling an evil substance that knowingly contributes to cancer but has also chosen to actively shun future fundraisers for fighting cancer. When word got out about the loan Asbestos, Quebec, is seeking to help save their asbestos mine, the Canadian Cancer Society and several other prominent organizations asked Quebec Premier Jean Charest to refuse a proposal that would guarantee the loan. In response, the town of Asbestos said they would no longer hold the Canadian Cancer Society’s successful Relay for Life fundraiser. Relay for Life is an international event that raises money for cancer research. In Canada, about 200,000 people participated in 451 Relay for Life events held throughout the country in 2009. Relay for Life events in Asbestos, Quebec, raised 263,102 dollars between 2007 and 2009.

But in 2011, there will be no Relay for Life events in Asbestos, no victory lap for cancer survivors, no luminaries lighting a path for relay participants. Asbestos’ mayor told the media that he supported anything that would bring up employment in the town and that the town wouldn’t cooperate with people who criticized them or their choices. That means that instead of actively waging war on cancer, a disease that affects every Canadian in some way, Asbestos, Quebec, will be actively contributing to the number of people who will get cancer. Of course, not everyone in Asbestos is to blame for the poor and selfish choices of their government. And yes, the mayor of Asbestos is just trying to salvage employment in his town. But there has to be a better way to do it. Mining asbestos cannot and should not be the only employment option in Asbestos, Quebec, nor is it the only industry that can bring jobs to the town. And refusing to raise funds for a disease that they will be contributing to is not winning Asbestos, Quebec, any points.