1,000 Tonnes of Asbestos Removed from Parliament

Renovations on Parliamentary buildings set to wrap up by 2013.

Perhaps the latest renovations of Parliament Hill will get the government to reconsider its support for Quebec's asbestos industry – about 1,000 metric tonnes of the harmful mineral have been removed from the West Block and Wellington Building since August. The two buildings have been closed to the public for months for widescale renovations set to be finished by 2013, although as The Hill Times' Laura Ryckewaert points out, the building had "been home to 50 offices, seven committee rooms, a food production facility, the massive West Block cafeteria, and Room 200, the grand ballroom, as well as other rooms and facilities." The Wellington Building, which sits across the street from Parliament, housed offices of administrators of the House of Commons. Removing asbestos is a tricky and often dangerous task, as dust containing the mineral often gets disturbed and goes airborne during removal. Proper ventilation is required to prevent inhalation of the mineral, which has been linked to mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. Quebec's two remaining asbestos mines stopped producing the mineral earlier this month for the first time in 130 years. Chrysotile asbesots is banned in 40 countries, but Canada continues to export it to developing countries.