Document 37D0GmaqgD1raDVRY0ZYa1b36

CAREY-CANADIAN MINES, LTD WEST ISLE TOWER. SUITE 303. 2121 NORTH SERVICE ROAD OORVAL 740, P.O.. CANADA - TELEPHONE: 514-633-2990 CABLE AOORESS: CARMINES MTL. - TELEX:. 05-24S52 April 26, 1973 Bulletin No. 401 TO: SUBJECT: ALL CCM SALESMEN, DOMESTIC DISTRIBUTORS DIRECT CUSTOMERS & EXPORT DISTRIBUTORS. ASBESTOS & HEALTH Please note the attached press release based on AIA/NA material released in the U.S. earlier in the month. Similar coverage is being provided in Canada by The Quebec Asbestos Mining Association to all leading Canadian newspapers, trade journals and wire services. Sales Manager, /dm. bcc: M. Prus A. Bagenstose A. Bowe File Y is ^uabec AsjiotOw Xcr.c Room 412 - 5 Place V Montreal 112, Qua. ?c .formation Matt Swetonic C 212) 63S-3373 For Immediate Release World Health Organization retorts: Asbestos in environment not public health threat NEW YORK -- "Recent findings that levels of asbestos dust in the environment do not endanger the general public -- as reported by a World Health Organization agency -- confirm, the position of the asbestos industry>" says Matthew M. Swetcnic, executive secretary of the Asbestos Information Association/North America. The findings are contained in a report of the A.dvisory Committee on Asbestos Cancers to the director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer> a division of the WHO. They are conclusions of a specially selected panel of medical researchers convened following the IARC conference .on the "Biological Effects of A.sbestos" held at Lyon, France, October 5-6 , 1972. According .../2 t jo World.Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, the full proceedings of the tee ting will be published sometime this year. Ccttr.er.tins or. the IARC report, hr. Swetonic calls it a rr.ajor contribution by distinguished researchers from all over the world, and the most comprehensive presentation of facts available about the occupational hazards of asbestos and the relationship of asbestos to the general public. "The Lyon conference," Kr. Swetonic adds, "was attended by 130 participants from 20 countries -- including Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland, The United Kingdom, The United States, The U.S.S.R. and Yugoslavia -- and is representative of world medical coinion." According to Mr. Swetonic, the major conclusions of the IARC report can be summarized as follows: - The population at large is not threatened by asbestos fibers ir. the atmosphere. Surveys in a number of countries have shown that the concentration of asbestos dust in the urban atmosphere is about 10,C0C times lower than the concentration known to be safe for occupationally exposed workers. - While a direct relationship between inhalation of excessive asbestos dust and certain diseases was confirmed, risks varied according to the type of fiber, the type of occupation, and the extent of engineering controls implemented in the workplace. . . . /3 T - ac ir.cr-s.id risk cf disease results from assesses fibers which might be present in the water supply > saverages, food, or in the fluids used for the administration of drugs. - It is confirmed that cigarette smoking greatly increases the risk of lung cancer among men and women exposed to excessive asbestos dust in their occupations. The IARC report also recommends that future research be ccrecxec at understanding the mechanism cf disease production., at .vays to control disease and protect workers from excessive dust levels, at methods to determine the quantity of asbestos fiber in the human lung and other tissues and at the standardization of diagnostic criteria. Much of the world-wide research into asbestos-related disease is supported and coordinated by the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health, of Montreal. Established by the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association in 1966, tha Institute's goal is to support ar.d coordinate medical research projects around the world aimed at identifying and eliminating asbestos-based health risks not solely for Canadian asbestos production workers but for all worldwide fabricators and users of finished asbestos products. 30