Ottawa will ban the import of asbestos and asbestos-containing products by 2018, following in the footsteps of most industrialized countries. Canada, formerly a world leader in asbestos production, still allows the import of certain asbestos-based products, notably asbestos cement and brake pads. The process of tightening up on asbestos issues seems to have accelerated since the closure of the Jeffrey mine in 2011, the last asbestos mine to operate in Canada.
Among other things, in 2013 Quebec amended its Act respecting occupational health and safety and the Safety Code for the Construction Industry to better control the management of asbestos-containing materials in existing buildings and thus ensure the health and physical integrity of workers.
In 2015, Health Canada also quietly changed its official position on the dangers of asbestos use to that of the WHO. We no longer distinguish between the hazardousness of different types of asbestos, and we’ve dropped the phrase “asbestos”.
if breathed in large quantities
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