“THE CASSIAR STORY” ‘The Environment Melvin S. Taylor, Chief Engineer - Environmental, Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Limited, Cassiar, B.C. Abstract The environmental control program at Cassiar Mine is an active one involving government, unions and company personnel all working together to achieve a goal —"‘A clean and safe working environment”. This can only be achieved by utilizing three of Cassiar’s most important resources; i.e., people, time and money. Past environmental programs have more than proved that the goal can be reached and, with the future programs now in progress, Cassiar Asbestos will achieve its environmental goals. Introduction CASSIAR ASBESTOS CORPORATION LIMITED operates the only asbestos mine in British Columbia. The plantsite and town are located in close juxtaposi- tion, creating special environmental considerations. Cassiar’s environmental and health record has been very good. In over 25 years of asbestos mining and milling operations at Cassiar, B.C., there has not been one reported case of an asbestos-related disease. Until the late 1960’s, little was known about the effects of asbestos on the respiratory system. Some clarification has been gained as the result of exten- sive medical and technical research, certainly enough to establish that the excessive inhalation of asbestos fibre over extended periods of time may be detri- mental to health. To reduce this possible hazard to a minimum, Cassiar Asbestos has undertaken an extensive program ef construction, monitoring and maintenance to meet government environmental standards. Environmental Control at Cassiar Since the inception of the mine in 1958, Cassiar As- bestos has carried out preventive medical programs by performing pre-employment and employee chest X- Melvin S. Taylor was born in Asbes- tos, Quebec, where he graduated from secondary school. He then received a diploma in both the technical and en- gineering fields from various insti- tutes in Quebec. Following this, he furthered his studies in the business administration and management field, successfully obtaining his diploma in business administration. Mr. Taylor worked for 20 years in the mining and milling of asbestos fibre while living in Quebec. Prior to joining Cassiar Asbestos Corporation in July, 1977, he worked in various capacities with Cana- dian Johns-Manville Company Limited. He spent the last nine years on the administration and engineering of envi- ronmental control techniques in the asbestos industry prior to joining Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Limited as chief engineer - environmental. Keywords: Cassiar Mine, Asbestos, Environmental con- trol, Dust monitoring, Fibre counts, Ventilation. rays. The medical testing facilities are located at Cassiar, and definite guidelines are followed to exam- ine employees for possible ill-effects which might result from asbestos dust exposure. To further these studies and to confirm that no asbestos-related di- seases had been found, Cassiar Asbestos recently com- pleted a survey of employees to determine the effects of asbestos exposure. This survey, independently conducted by Dr. Stefan Grzybowski and staff from the University of British Columbia, involved employees who have worked at Cassiar for a period of ten years or more. This ten- year classification was arbitrarily chosen, as it appears to be the earliest time period in which an asbestos- related disease is likely to appear. The survey included a lung function test, chest X-rays, sputum tests, blood samples and an examination of employees case his- tories and employment records. “It has been established that there is a definite rela- tionship between the inhalation of asbestos, cigarette smoking and respiratory problems. One medical au- thority stated that the excessive inhalation of asbestos fibre can lead to asbestosis. He concluded by saying, however, that curiously it seems to occur most often in those asbestos workers who smoke. Further, it is reported that asbestos workers who smoke incur about 92 times the risk of dying of a bronchogenic carcinoma as do those who neither work with asbestos nor smoke. In view of the mounting evidence linking cigarettes to respiratory diseases, Cassiar Asbestos developed a realistic program to help those employees who want to quit smoking. This campaign met with encouraging success and included a public-participation campaign at Whitehorse, Yukon. The program has recently been upgraded and intensified and is being conducted by a smoking-cessation consultant, with the assistance of Cassiar personnel who have ‘kicked the habit’. At the Cassiar Mine, a large number of dust-produ- cing areas have been brought under control. Areas that are not yet under control have been identified and dust control programs are underway. In these latter areas, employees are required to wear masks. Dust Monitoring Dust monitoring surveys were carried out at Cassiar Asbestos Corporation from 1953 to 1962 by the Work- ers Compensation Board of B.C. and then from 1963 to date by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum Re- sources. Recognizing the importance of dust control and measurement, Cassiar Asbestos adopted, in 1970, the midget impinger — the best known device for sampling air-borne dust at that time. Cassiar used this method to conduct its own first plant-wide survey in 1971. The midget impinger bubbles dust particules through isopropyl alcohol, impinging the particles to the bottom of a collection tube. Dust samples thus obtained are then mounted on slides and counted using a 100X microscope and recorded in million particles per cubic foot. Subsequently, in 1973, the improved filter membrane technique was adopted. This method enables the actual asbestos fibre to be counted, whereas the midget im- pinger includes all types of dust. The filter membrane technique, which was developed by the National Insti- — 51 —