THETFORD MINES
The center of Canada’s multimillion-dollar asbestos industry

April 17, 2009 - Thetford Mines is a community of 26,000 residents located 62 miles south of Quebec City, Canada. It was established in 1876, after a mother load of chrysotile asbestos ore was discovered there.

Today, Thetford Mines is the center of Canada’s controversial asbestos mining industry. At its peak, the region was home to some 13 asbestos mines.

An ongoing public debate over the morality of Canada’s multimillion-dollar asbestos industry pits medical authorities (who cite rising workplace mortality figures in Canada) against politicians (who cite the industry’s revenue stream and the jobs that the mines provide). Thetford Mines currently supports 550 jobs for Quebec province.

Thetford Mines’ deadly product, asbestos

Canada is one of the world's largest exporters of asbestos. Last year, more than $100 million worth was exported to developing nations, mainly India, Indonesia and Thailand, where government regulations on asbestos are lax or nonexistent.

Most uses of asbestos have been banned in Canada. All types of asbestos use have been banned in Europe and Australia. That’s because thousands of people die every year from the fatal diseases asbestos causes: lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Thetford Mines' asbestos legacy

Canadian workers in the manufacturing, construction and mining industries face the greatest risk of asbestos exposure. In 2003 (the most recent year for which data are available), 343 Canadians died from the signature asbestos disease, mesothelioma.

This mortality figure represents a 17-percent increase from only three years earlier when 292 people died in 2000 (Statistics Canada, 2006). According to medical authorities, the number of deaths related to occupational asbestos exposure is expected to continue rising and will peak after the decade of 2010-2020.

Asbestos exposure occurs through the inhalation of asbestos dust and fiber. Symptoms may not appear until 20 to 50 years after the exposure, which explains why Canada’s workplace mortality rate continues to rise every year despite a current reduction in the use of asbestos.

Time to seek justice!

Asbestos disease is most often the result of industrial workplace exposure to asbestos – and usually contracted through employers’ blatant disregard for the health and safety of their workers. That’s why people diagnosed with mesothelioma and their family members have strong cases in court.

Weitz & Luxenberg has championed the legal rights of blue-collar workers for more than 20 years. And in that time its attorneys have won several billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for injured clients.

If you have a mesothelioma injury, please complete the form on this page for a free evaluation of your legal rights. There is no cost to you until we win a settlement or a verdict in your favor.