Quebec is home to Canada’s only operational asbestos mine, located in the town of Thetford Mines. Although the mine employs only about 300 workers, the Canadian government has continued to defend asbestos mining and supplied the asbestos industry with funding.

These recent complaints about continued asbestos mining in Quebec come amid reports that the province’s government has failed to release the results of a study investigating the link between cancer and asbestos mining more than eight months after it was received.

Exposure to asbestos has been linked to a number of potentially deadly diseases, including lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that can affect the lining of the heart, lungs or abdomen. Although the treatment of patients who receive a mesothelioma diagnosis is possible, the disease is usually fatal within five years.

The ship in question—previously known as the SS Independence when it was used by the US Navy—dropped anchor off the coast of India on October 4th in order to be dismantled. Environmental groups protesting the ship’s presence say that they fear that toxic materials aboard the vessel could jeopardize the lives of shipyard workers who will conduct the demolition.

The groups estimate that the ship contains about 210 tons of PCBs and about 250 tons of asbestos, as well as other radioactive materials. PCBs are toxic chemicals used in electronic wiring and paint which have been banned in the US. Asbestos—a fibrous material once commonly used for insulation and heat protection—has been rarely used in the US in recent decades due to its link with a deadly form of cancer known as mesothelioma.

In January 2009, the owners of the ship were forced to pay a $518,000 fine to the Environmental Protection Agency over the alleged illegal export of the ship. Exporting PCBs from the US is illegal unless approved by the EPA.

An inspection conducted by the Public Employee Health and Safety Bureau in June 2009 discovered asbestos among the ceiling tiles at the civic center. According to her lawsuit against the city of Potsdam, Warner-Levison notified the bureau of possible asbestos contamination in the building following the death of a colleague from mesothelioma. The bureau’s subsequent investigation confirmed the presence of asbestos in the building.

Asbestos was once commonly used to protect against heat and to serve as insulation before the full health risks of were known. Exposure to asbestos can lead to a number of serious and potentially fatal diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that can affect the lining of the heart, lungs or abdomen.

Archerd was received a mesothelioma diagnosis as a result of asbestos exposure that occurred during his time in the Navy during World War II, his doctors said. Many naval and other seagoing vessels employed asbestos insulation and other asbestos materials, placing maritime workers at risk of mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases.

Perhaps best known as the official greeter for televised coverage of the Academy Awards, Archerd broke his biggest story in 1985 when he announced that movie star Rock Hudson had been diagnosed with AIDS.

During his 50 year tenure at Variety, Archerd authored over 10,000 columns for the publication, ranging from bombshells like the Hudson story to Hollywood news and observations. During his time in Hollywood, Archerd became friends with a number of movie legends, including Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck and Sidney Poitier.

Sheet metal workers may be involved in a number of different job types, including installing heating and air conditioning ducts, manufacturing household appliances such as refrigerators and working in shipyards or the railroad industry. Many sheet metal workers suffered asbestos exposure from a coating which used to be sprayed on surfaces for fireproofing. This method was banned in 1973.

According to the study, sheet metal workers were much more likely to be diagnosed with diseases that include mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer. The study also found an increased risk of cardio obstructive pulmonary diseases.

Researchers found that even workers whose X-rays did not reveal asbestosis or abnormalities in the lining of the lungs were at an increased risk of mesothelioma and cancers of the pleura, the lining of the chest and abdomen.

Mesothelioma is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos, a fibrous mineral that was once widely used for construction and industrial jobs. Although the use of asbestos has declined significantly since the 1970s, because it can take 20-40 years before a person who has suffered asbestos exposure to receive a mesothelioma diagnosis, many workers who were exposed decades earlier are only now beginning to show symptoms of the disease.

According to the NIOSH report, the number of deaths attributed to mesothelioma will likely peak by 2010. However, the report suggests that the number of deaths caused by mesothelioma will not return to normal levels until 2055.

Currently, an estimated 1.3 million workers in the U.S. are potentially being exposed to asbestos on the job. The most common industries in the report for workers who died of mesothelioma were ship and boat building or repairing, industrial or chemical jobs, petroleum refining, electrical light and power and construction. The most common jobs performed by workers who died from mesothelioma were plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, mechanical engineers, electricians and elementary school teachers.

According to the lawsuit filed against three manufacturers, Wagner worked for over 30 years installing tile, wood and other materials containing asbestos in buildings. For many of those years, construction sites containing asbestos were not regulated by the government regulators.

Following three weeks of testimony, the jury agreed with the family’s allegations that the three companies were responsible for the asbestos exposure that caused Wagner to develop mesothelioma. Jurors said that the companies knew that their products contained asbestos but failed to conduct studies of how much asbestos exposure would be deadly.

Researchers in Tennessee found that a combination of the drugs lovastatin and interferon was able to significantly improve the condition of a woman with advanced mesothelioma symptoms. Although the woman’s tumor had almost completely filled the chest space in her right lung by the time her condition was diagnosed as mesothelioma, doctors were able to decrease the size of her tumor and improve her symptoms after two months of treatment.

A report in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics suggests that treatments which target the protein mesothelin may also help patients with mesothelioma. Mesothelin is only found in small quantities in healthy patients, but occurs in much higher quantities in patients with mesothelioma or other forms of cancer. Researchers are examining antibodies which would bypass normal cells and target the mesothelin protein to determine if they would be effective in treating mesothelioma patients.

European scientists have also found that a form of surgery may help to extend the lives of individuals with mesothelioma when combined with other forms of treatment. A study presented at the 2009 European Multidisciplinary Conference in Thoracic Oncology found that a surgical procedure known as pleurectomy/decortication—which involves the removal of the outer lining of the lungs—was effective at treating some mesothelioma sufferers when used in combination with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Patients who received this threefold treatment had a three year survival rate of 43%. Because many patients do not receive a mesothelioma diagnosis until they are in the advanced stages of the disease, many survive for less than one year after learning that they have the disease.

According to the report, about 90% of the 25,000 schools in Great Britain contain asbestos. Teachers who work in these schools are at risk of asbestos exposure because pinning notices to ceilings or banging doors shut can cause fibers to be sprinkled into the air. Researchers say that each pin placed into school ceilings causes 6,000 asbestos fibers to be released into the air.

“A lot of people have been exposed without knowing it,” said Mary Bousted, General Secretary for the Association of Teachers and Lecturers. “I have been merrily putting pins into asbestos boards for years. If the doors bang or ceiling tiles become dislodged, as they do in many of our older schools, the danger level becomes critical.”

Exposure to asbestos can lead to mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer that can attack the lining of the heart, lungs or abdomen. In addition to teachers, workers involved in manufacturing, construction, shipyards and other industries may also be at risk of receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis from coming into contact with asbestos-containing products in the workplace.

Parker and her husband bought property from Grace in the early 1990s, but were forced to move a few years later because of asbestos contamination from the mine on their land. Parker says that she was subsequently diagnosed with asbestosis.

In her testimony, Parker said that she had seen a letter sent by the manager of the mine to Grace officials which stated that he knew about “health problems associated with exposure to asbestos for both employees and their families when the mine was still in operation.” The five former officials on trial are accused of knowingly exposing workers and citizens of the town to asbestos fibers.

A physician who worked at Libby’s Center for Asbestos-Related Disease testified that he had diagnosed 1,800 people with diseases caused by asbestos during his work at the facility. Dr. Alan Whitehouse said that 50% of those that were diagnosed were citizens of the town who had no history of occupational asbestos exposure. Dr. Whitehouse testified that Libby also has the nation’s highest rate of mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer caused by asbestos.