Many private homes in the southern Quebec community of Thetford Mines are "severely contaminated" by asbestos and pose a dangerous public health risk, according to a new study released Wednesday.

This contaminated tailings pile is a popular destination for off-road riders, who carve trails up and down the hill.
(Katherine Canty/CBC)

Thetford Mines, a community of about 26,000 residents located just over 100 kilometres south of Quebec City, has long been the centre of Canada's asbestos mining industry.

The exploratory sample report, published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, documented levels of asbestos inside and outside 26 private residences in the community that significantly exceed internationally accepted limits.

In 2004, a group of American and Canadian occupational health researchers sampled air, soil and dust in dozens of homes in the community. More than half of the 28 air samples contained asbestos fibres exceeding U.S. government safety limits, the report said.

The study concluded that residue piles and dust blowing off trucks carrying residue appeared to be among the major sources of asbestos contamination in the homes. 

A majority of the 14 soil samples taken from lawns and a playground contained far more asbestos than considered safe, the group said.

"The findings of the air, soil and dust samples lead us to conclude that the residential environment in areas near Thetford Mines are severely contaminated by asbestos," the report concluded.

The study's authors acknowledged they would have liked to take more samples, but were limited by the financial resources available to them. Some residents also changed their minds about giving permission to test the air in their homes, they noted.

The authors said they hope the study will prompt the Quebec government to conduct its own tests to confirm their conclusions and take action to protect the town's residents.

"The population at large in these towns are at an elevated risk of developing asbestos-related diseases," said William Charney, an American occupational health expert and the study's lead author.

Such diseases include lung cancer, mesothelioma — a cancer of the lining of the chest and the abdominal cavity — as well as asbestosis, a chronic breathing disorder in which the lungs become scarred with fibrous tissue.

The symptoms of these diseases do not usually appear until about 20 to 30 years after the first exposure to asbestos. 

'Maybe my time is coming'

Richard Rousseau, founder of the Asbestos Victims Association of Quebec (AVAQ), helped the researchers with the study. His father, Hervé Rousseau, a retired miner, suffers from pleural plaque disease, a hardening of the membrane around the lungs.

Activist Richard Rousseau's father Hervé, a retired miner, has pleural plaque disease, an illness linked to asbestos exposure.
(Katherine Canty/CBC)

During his childhood, the younger Rousseau, now 56, recalled how dust from the mines covered the lawns, the houses and everything else around the town.

The contamination isn't as visible these days, but the asbestos residue piles still rise like mountains all around the town. Young people riding bicycles and off-road vehicles on the piles said they've been playing there since they were small children. 

'This situation would not be allowed to continue in the United States.'— Dr. Richard Lemen, former U.S. assistant surgeon general

"For me it's sand like anywhere else," said Nicholas Daigle, 22, whose clothing was covered in residue.

Rousseau told CBC News that he recently lost an old school friend to an asbestos-related illness, which made him worry about his own health.

"Maybe my time is coming," he said.

Another resident, Diane Lapointe, looked at the last photo taken of her mother before she died of mesothelioma last year. Her mother grew up in Thetford Mines but left when she was 23. 

Lapointe said she believes the industry has made many people sick, including those like her mother who never worked in the mines themselves.

Most people in the area don't want to talk about it, she said, because too many jobs depend on asbestos. 

"They say it's keeping the town alive," Lapointe said. "But I think it's killing a few people, too."

Children 'most at risk'

The study's lead author said he believes the youngest members of the community are particularly threatened.

"Children are the population most at risk from these public health exposures because of the time it takes for asbestos disease to develop," Charney said. "So the younger you're exposed, the higher the risk."

Both the Quebec and federal governments have long argued asbestos from Thetford Mines is much safer to use than other types — a view opposed by virtually every international health agency.

Canada and Quebec have spent more than $40 million in recent years to promote exports of asbestos, almost all of which goes to developing countries.

In the United States, the discovery of similar levels of asbestos would likely result in schools being closed and some residents asked to leave their homes, Charney said.

The finding of one per cent asbestos by volume in the soil of somebody's front yard would be enough to trigger the Environmental Protection Agency to go in and do an absolute cleanup, he added.

"We were finding levels of 20, 40, 60, 80 per cent in the soil."

According to the World Health Organization, there is no acceptable level of asbestos dust that does not constitute a risk of cancer.

Dr. Richard Lemen, a former U.S. assistant surgeon general who has been a vocal opponent of asbestos for nearly four decades, said the people in Thetford Mines deserve immediate help.

"This situation would not be allowed to continue in the United States," Lemen told CBC News. "There would be a very strong response to eliminate this type of exposure and to take the people out of harm's way."