BC Construction unions urge Quebec Premier Jean Charest to permanently close
Jeffrey Asbestos Mine, end mining and export of deadly asbestos products as
mesothelioma fatalities rise

VANCOUVER, Nov. 9 /CNW/ - British Columbia construction unions are urging Quebec Premier Jean Charest to permanently close the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos, Quebec rather than guarantee a $58 million loan to expand asbestos mining and exports.

The BC Building Trades Council, representing over 35,000 construction workers, made its position clear in a letter sent to Charest today asking the province to shut down the mine and end Quebec asbestos exports to developing countries.

Council Executive Director Wayne Peppard says the unusual intervention is a reaction to the deadly toll of asbestos-related cancer deaths that continue to grow among retired construction workers in British Columbia, with a University of BC medical study predicting that 1,500 BC residents will die from asbestos related cancers in the next five years.

"The horrible results of asbestos-related cancers now happening to BC construction workers should never be allowed anywhere in the world," Peppard said. "The Jeffrey Mine is solely based on exporting deadly asbestos to vulnerable developing countries that have not yet banned asbestos."

"This is not an attack on resource industries. Construction workers understand and support the extraction of raw materials, but asbestos is different," Peppard said. "We deal with widows and families in anguish, loss and grieving that follows from these premature deaths."

Underdeveloped countries, mainly India, are the primary customers for asbestos products. Lax health and safety regulations and poor safety practices will mean that workers in those countries will breathe in the toxic asbestos fibres. Once impregnated the clock on cancer begins for these workers. Asbestos related cancers will develop years after exposure to the poison.

For further information:

Wayne Peppard at cell 778-388-0014 or Joe Barrett at 604-291-9020, BC Building Trades Council; or Bill Tieleman, West Star Communications, cell 778-896-0964 or office 604-844-7827