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 (...