Quebec Asbestos Mining Association, Asbestos and Your Health: The Questions People Are Asking (c. 1977)

A fold-out public information leaflet of the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association in Montreal, "Asbestos and your health: The questions people are asking - and the answers," in English (pages 1-7) and French ("L'amiante et votre santé," pages 8-14). It answers questions such as whether asbestos fiber is a health hazard, whether it is a major air pollutant, whether brake linings put asbestos into the air, and whether asbestos presents a risk to the general public, quoting the 1972 International Agency for Research on Cancer advisory committee that "there is at present no evidence of lung damage by asbestos to the general public."

What it shows

The leaflet says McGill University's studies of Quebec chrysotile miners showed "a higher mortality rate solely among those workers who, during their period of employment, 30 or 40 years ago, were exposed to the strongest concentrations," and that "the incidence of diseases related to asbestos will diminish to the point that they will no longer be a problem." It closes with "known medical facts" that asbestos risks "are basically confined to the work environment" and "are well known and are controlled by Government regulations." It describes the industry's research through the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health in Montreal and the Industrial Hygiene Foundation. The association's first pamphlet of this name dates from April 1972 (Pelnar to Diemer).