Asbestos manufacturers as early as the 1930s concealed serious health concerns related to
asbestos exposure. Information available in the 1930s suggested that asbestos was associated
with serious respiratory problems.
In an effort to discredit adverse information, the asbestos industry funded various scientific
studies intended to prove that asbestos was safe. The studies concluded just the opposite—asbestos
was highly toxic and a carcinogen to humans.
Instead of alerting the public to the risk posed by asbestos, the manufacturers concealed
the facts and continued producing asbestos-containing materials at an alarming rate.
Nearly every citizen in Canada will be exposed to asbestos at some point in their life. Asbestos
was commonly used in the construction of residences, commercial buildings, and schools.
Fortunately, most people who are exposed to asbestos will not be exposed in high enough levels
to become ill. Those people at the greatest risk for getting ill or developing an asbestos-related
cancer are workers who are around asbestos on a regular basis. |
