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Asbestos Corporation Limited

Asbestos Corporation Limited was a Canadian chrysotile mining and milling company that operated major asbestos mines in the Thetford Mines region of Quebec for most of the 20th century. It was one of the largest producers of chrysotile asbestos in the world and supplied raw fiber to manufacturers across North America and overseas. The company changed ownership several times, including a period under Quebec provincial government control, before its operations were wound down as the asbestos industry collapsed.

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Origin

The company traces its roots to late-19th-century chrysotile mining in Quebec's Eastern Townships, where commercial asbestos deposits were discovered in the 1870s. Asbestos Corporation Limited was consolidated in the early 20th century and grew through acquisition of mines around Thetford Mines and the town of Asbestos, Quebec. In 1981 the Quebec government, through the Société nationale de l'amiante, acquired a controlling interest as part of a provincial industrial policy.

According to the 1986 Sourcebook on Asbestos Diseases, a compilation by plaintiffs' attorneys, Asbestos Corp. Ltd. was incorporated in Canada on October 6, 1925, and on December 18, 1925 took over the assets of Asbestos Corporation of Canada Ltd.1 The book names Johnsons Co. Ltd. as a predecessor, and lists mining companies Asbestos Corporation acquired, among them Consolidated Asbestos Ltd., Federal Asbestos Co., Thetford Vimy, Ltd., Maple Leaf Asbestos Corp. Ltd., Asbestos Mines Ltd. and Asbestos Fiber Co., Inc.21 It says that on October 21, 1977, Quebec announced that it meant to acquire the company by buying the 54.6 percent of its shares held by General Dynamics and others, and that General Dynamics refused an offer, which the book dates September 21, 1979.1 On June 21, 1979, the book says, the National Assembly passed Bill 70, creating the Société nationale de l'amiante to receive the mining operation, and the next day Bill 121, allowing the province to expropriate it; General Dynamics asked the Quebec courts to stop the expropriation, but the courts upheld the government's power to expropriate, and the decree upholding the expropriation order became final on March 16, 1981.1 The book's account differs from the 1981 date given above for the province's control: it says that at the end of 1981 the company was still controlled by General Dynamics Corporation of Canada Ltd., and its list of name changes describes Asbestos Corp. Ltd. as a General Dynamics subsidiary whose expropriation was still in process.13

Significance in Asbestos Context

For patients, Asbestos Corporation Ltd. is important because it was a major source of the raw chrysotile fiber used in thousands of consumer and industrial products (insulation, cement pipe, gaskets, brake linings, joint compound, and textiles), many of which caused exposures decades later. Identifying that a product contained Quebec chrysotile can connect a worker's or family member's exposure to a specific supply chain, and the company has been named as a defendant or third-party in U.S. asbestos litigation. Internal documents from Quebec producers, including Asbestos Corporation, have been used to show that the industry knew about the health hazards of chrysotile long before warnings appeared on products. If your work history involved Canadian chrysotile or products made from it, this company's role in the supply chain may be relevant to your claim.

Chrysotile, Thetford Mines, Johns-Manville, Quebec Asbestos Mining Association, Bendix, State of the Art Defense, Quebec Asbestos, Provenance Analysis, Supply Chain, Corporate Knowledge

Notes

  • If you or a family member worked with raw asbestos fiber, bagged fiber, or imported Canadian chrysotile products, tell your legal team. Supply-chain evidence may identify Asbestos Corporation Ltd. as a source.
  • Preserve any product packaging, shipping documents, invoices, or union records that mention Quebec, Thetford, or Canadian chrysotile suppliers; these can establish provenance.
  • Ask your attorney whether claims involving Canadian producers may need to be pursued in specific jurisdictions or against successor entities, since corporate restructuring and bankruptcy can affect which company is responsible.
  • Industry documents from Quebec chrysotile producers are part of the historical record showing early industry knowledge of asbestos disease. Your experts may rely on them to rebut a 'state of the art' defense.

References

  1. Barbara J. Peters and George A. Peters, Sourcebook on Asbestos Diseases: Medical, Legal, and Engineering Aspects, vol. 2 (New York: Garland Law Publishing, 1986), p. 163.
  2. Barbara J. Peters and George A. Peters, Sourcebook on Asbestos Diseases: Medical, Legal, and Engineering Aspects, vol. 2 (New York: Garland Law Publishing, 1986), p. 159.
  3. Barbara J. Peters and George A. Peters, Sourcebook on Asbestos Diseases: Medical, Legal, and Engineering Aspects, vol. 2 (New York: Garland Law Publishing, 1986), p. 158.

Plants

Plants where asbestos products were made that the documents say Asbestos Corporation Limited ran.

Mines

Asbestos mines the documents name Asbestos Corporation Limited as running or owning.

Court cases

38 court decisions in our case-law library name Asbestos Corporation Limited as a defendant, newest first.

In our library

3 documents in our library name Asbestos Corporation Limited, by collection.

Other library documents (3)

In the Union Carbide documents

Asbestos Corporation Limited is named in 17 Union Carbide documents dated 1959 to 2001 (17 mentioned), from asbestos lawsuits over Union Carbide's Calidria asbestos. All are published in our collection.

Names in the documents

The spellings documents use for Asbestos Corporation Limited, OCR misreadings included, so a search for any of them finds this page: Asbestos Corp., Ltd · Asbestos Corporation · Asbestos Corporation Ltd · Asbestos Corporation Limited, Thetford Mines, Que. · Asbestos Corp. LTD · Asbestos Corp.

Where this comes from

This page brings together every document in our library that names Asbestos Corporation Limited, across collections. Titles and affiliations are taken from the documents themselves, and units and subsidiaries are grouped under the company they belong to.

Mentioned on this site

Cite this page

“Asbestos Corporation Limited.” AsbestosClaims.Law Library. https://asbestosclaims.law/library/organizations/asbestos-corporation-limited.

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This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every asbestos case turns on its own facts, exposure history, diagnosis, deadlines, available evidence, and applicable law. Reviewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.