Quebec’s Asbestos changing its name
ASBESTOS, Que. – After decades of debate on the issue, the town of Asbestos has announced it will change its name next year because the word “asbestos” scares away foreign investors and prevents new businesses from setting up shop. Asbestos Mayor Hugues Grimard said that when representatives of the town go abroad to drum up business or seek investors, they encounter a certain reluctance.
“Concretely, four businesses have told me they don’t want to establish here because of the name, that their investors were reluctant to invest here,” Grimard told the Montreal Gazette in an interview Wednesday.
Asbestos was mined in the town, 170 kilometres east of Montreal, from the late 1870s until 2012.
Now several companies hope to make money by extracting valuable materials, such as magnesium, from the mountains of asbestos mining residues that remain.
Asbestos, a fibrous mineral prized for its strength and its fire resistance, was widely used around the world for many decades, but then studies began to confirm it was killing people. The Quebec and Canadian governments continued to promote Quebec’s asbestos for use in developing countries for many years after the dangers were known.
The World Health Organization estimates that at least 107,000 people die from asbestos-related diseases globally each year.
Like many in his town, Grimard still believes asbestos can be used safely, even though scientists and activists have persuaded at least 55 countries around the world, including Canada, to ban the use of asbestos because of the deadly diseases it causes.