Asbestos and your life

People have been asking a lot of
questions about asbestos during the
past few years. They want to know if it
is a danger to health, and they want
straight answers—not double talk.

The problem is that honest answers
often sound like double talk. As an
example take the first and most impor-
tant question: is asbestos a danger to
health? The answer is yes, and it can
also be no. It all depends on what mea-
sures are taken to protect our health.

In recent years research has clearly
shown that asbestos can be a hazard
to health if people are exposed to it in
high concentrations. Under certain cir-
cumstances, depending on personal
health, or the amount a person
smokes, or the type of asbestos in-
haled, it is possible that even low con-
centrations of asbestos could be a
hazard. But when you think about it a
lot of things have the capacity to be
harmful to health. Alcohol can be harm-
ful. So can automobiles. Overeating
has contributed its share to the poor
health and eventual demise of many.
Certainly cigarettes have caused many
health problems for smokers—and for
many people who do not smoke.

Water can do you in. It has many
virtues, but if used improperly you can
drown in it. Fire is essential to us, but
improperly handled it can snuff out your
life in seconds or leave you injured or
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scarred. Motorcycles, planes, drugs,
even sunlight can cause serious health
problems. All of these things have
virtues—but improperly used they
have the potential to do harm.

In this sense, if improperly handled,
asbestos can be a danger to your
health. You should think about this and
learn as much as you can about asbes-
tos and its possible effect on the human
body if reasonable precautions are not
observed, at all times.

Introducing a wide range of potential
killers is not meant to draw attention
away from the dangers attributed to
asbestos. But it does demonstrate that
there are hazards associated with al-
most every activity in which we humans
become involved, be it overeating,
overdrinking, smoking, high speed driv-
ing, or even simply taking too much
medicine to cure a cold. Do any of
these things to excess and we can ex-
pect trouble down the road.

And now back to the original ques-
tion: Can asbestos be a danger to
health? The answer to that question is
yes, the exposure to asbestos can
lead to health problems.

On the other hand, if the proper pre-
cautions are taken, if dust masks are
worn in areas that do not conform to
standards, if smoking is eliminated al-
together, and if exposure to asbestos
dust is kept within the levels consid-

ered safe by medical authorities, then
normal health patterns can be ex-
pected, provided persons exposed are
in good health.

Our job at Clinton Creek, therefore,
is clear. We must mine, mill and trans-
port asbestos in a way that ensures
there is no excessive exposure to as-
bestos by people on the job. To this end
a local Environmental Committee has
been in effective operation since 1975.
Through this committee, co-operative
environmental work involving the
Yukon Territorial Government, Cana-
dian Mine Workers Union, Local 1, and
mine management, has been vital and
productive. Indeed, ever since the for-
mation of the committee, representa-
tives of government, the union and
management have demonstrated a
high degree of responsibility in matters
related to the health and safety of Clin-
ton Creek employees.

Through the contributions of union,
government and management, a co-
operative and constructive safety and
health forum has focussed attention on
serious problem areas, made recom-
mendations, raised questions, and
found practical solutions to safety and
environmental problems.

This committee is still on the job and
will remain so until the mine closes and
Clinton Creek passes into history.