Health and Welfare Canada and Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Joint Press Release on Proposed Asbestos Regulations, with a Trade Communique on Asbestos in Toys (1975)

A two-page joint press release of May 28, 1975, in which Canada's Consumer and Corporate Affairs Minister, André Ouellet, and Health and Welfare Minister, Marc Lalonde, "alerted industries and consumers to impending regulations that would ban the importation of blue asbestos (crocidolite) and the sale of consumer products containing free asbestos fibres, such as some humidifier plates, certain types of modelling clay and joint cement." Non-consumer products containing asbestos would have to carry labels on their contents and safe use. With it is a bilingual trade communique of December 10, 1975, from J. W. Black of the Product Safety Branch, proposing to ban modelling materials containing asbestos and toys that may release it.

What it shows

The release said that inhaling free asbestos fibres "is a potential health hazard, which can result in cancer," and that "The danger exists for those living in the vicinity of plants which use asbestos as well as those working within the plants." It singled out crocidolite, which Canada imported from South Africa for asbestos-cement pipe, while saying the fibres in finished pipe posed no danger to consumers. The communique added that some talcs used to dust the inside of rubber balloons contain asbestos, "particularly tremolite."

About this copy

The last page is a separate, undated page headed "Recommended Action," in which "BBS" urges a U.S. commission to ban free asbestos in consumer products under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act; it appears to come from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's staff.