Asbestos

Since 2003, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ – Québec’s public health institute) has produced some fifteen publications describing asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases in Québec’s general population and its workers. The current state of knowledge leads to the conclusion that chrysotile asbestos is a human carcinogen and as a result, all the preventive and protective measures for the health of workers and the public must be enforced. However, the experience…

Since 2003, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ – Québec’s public health institute) has produced some fifteen publications describing asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases in Québec’s general population and its workers. The current state of knowledge leads to the conclusion that chrysotile asbestos is a human carcinogen and as a result, all the preventive and protective measures for the health of workers and the public must be enforced. However, the experience…

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…

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…

This document reports on the Québec data acquired since 2003 on asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases, both among workers and in the general population. However, the aim is not to update the knowledge on asbestos as such. This report also summarizes the status of the Québec surveillance system for asbestos exposures and asbestos-related diseases, which will be introduced by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), as a result of the adoption of the Policy…

While awaiting the introduction of the future surveillance system for asbestos exposures and their related diseases, we created the descriptive epidemiological portrait of two of these health problems, malignant mesothelioma and asbestosis. It was constructed using the data from statutory databases available at the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux: the Fichier des tumeurs du Québec (tumour registry) for cancer incidence, the Fichier des décès (death registry) for mortality and…

In 1997, in light of international developments with respect to asbestos, the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (Québec's department of health and social services) set up the Comité aviseur sur l'amiante (asbestos advisory committee) to make recommendations concerning appropriate measures for informing the public about the asbestos situation in Québec and protecting public health in this regard. To carry out this mandate, the committee conducted a number of studies. These were…

In 1997, in light of international developments with respect to asbestos, particularly after its banning in France, Quebec's ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (department of health and social services) set up a Comité aviseur sur l'amiante (asbestos advisory committee). The aim of this committee was to make recommendations about appropriate measures to inform the public and to protect public health in relation to the asbestos situation in Quebec. The advisory committee then…

Under the auspices of the Comité aviseur sur l'amiante au Québec (asbestos advisory committee), the sub-committee on the epidemiology of asbestos-related diseases reviewed the available epidemiological data on these diseases in Quebec. The sub-committee also conducted various studies to fill in certain gaps identified during the analysis of available data. 

The findings that have been summarized here show a statistically significant increase in the incidence of mesothelioma of…

In 1997, in light of international developments with respect to asbestos, particularly after its banning in France and the ensuing controversy, the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) set up a Comité aviseur sur l'amiante (asbestos advisory committee). The aim of this committee was to make recommendations about appropriate measures to inform the public and to protect public health.

The mandate of the Comité aviseur sur l'amiante (exposure measurement) consisted in…