Background and Purpose

Asbestos was mined and milled at Baie Verte from 1955 - 1992. Health effects from exposure to, and working with, asbestos have been widely recognized for more than 50 years.

Following a strike at the mine to protest working conditions and health risks, a study was commissioned in the mid-1970s with Dr. Irving Selikoff, a world-renowned specialist in occupational diseases. Dr. Selikoff identified changes in the health of some Baie Verte asbestos miners that were consistent with asbestos exposure. One of the recommendations of this study was that, "a registry of the Baie Verte employees should be established to include all workers who have been employed for one month or more... notifications of the former employees should be undertaken, and they should be informed of the Registry's existence" (Selikoff, I.J. 1976).

In the late 1980s, the United Steelworkers, concerned that the impact of employment at Baie Verte on the health of employees and former employees was being underestimated or ignored, created a paper database of employees and their work records. Since that time, the union has pressed the provincial government and the Workplace Health Safety & Compensation Commission (WHSCC) to use these data as the starting point for the creation of the registry recommended by the Selikoff study.

Information regarding past employees of the Baie Verte asbestos mine is scattered across the province, the country and the United States. Files, datasets, X-rays and other vital clinical information is stored in a variety of delicate forms and at high risk of loss, destruction, and in some cases, unauthorized access. The creation of a formal registry brings all available data together in a single place under conditions that will guarantee preservation and ethically appropriate access.

Information

The Registry is now CLOSED. Information collected for the Registry has been transferred to the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information (NLCHI) for storage.

For information regarding registrant files, please contact:

• Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information (NLCHI)
• Telephone: 709-752-6000
• Email: privacy@nlchi.nl.ca

The Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission (WHSCC), the United Steelworkers (USW), and the Baie Verte Peninsula Miners' Action Committee created the Baie Verte Miners' Registry to help collect, complete and verify records in order to track the health and work history of any person who worked at the mine or mill in Baie Verte. The work on this project began in August, 2008 and data collection ended in July, 2011. The Registry has 1,003 registrants.

This Registry brings information from many different sources together in one secure place for each person who registers ('registrant'). The information will be easily accessible by the registrant and the WHSCC if a claim is filed for a disease that may be related to asbestos exposure. Information from the Registry can also be used by a registrant's health professional to help diagnose and treat diseases and conditions that may be caused by asbestos.

The Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission wishes to inform Registrants that the information they provide to the Registry is fully protected as private information and will not be shared with any person or organization without the registrant's explicit written consent.

In association with the Baie Verte Peninsula Miners' Action Committee
Copyright © 2008 SafetyNet
All Rights Reserved
06/02/2009
All images used with permission from Baie Verte Peninsula Economic Development Association

Outputs

Peer reviewed journal publications

A quantitative retrospective exposure assessment for former chrysotile asbestos miners and millers from Baie Verte, NL, Canada. Giles Murphy, T., Bornstein, S., Oudyk, J., Demers, P.A. (2020). Annals of Work Exposures and Health, wxaa092, https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxaa092 (open access)

Reports related to the Registry:

Full Final Report (April, 2013)

Brief Final Report (Plain Language Report) (March, 2013)

Health Care Brochure (2010)

Student Theses

Giles Murphy, T. (2015).  Asbestos exposure and incidence of disease among a group of former chrysotile asbestos miners and millers from Baie Verte, NL, Canada.  Doctoral Dissertation, Faculty of Medicine (Division of Community Health and Humanities).  Memorial University of Newfoundland. (link)

Presentations

Bornstein, S., & Hoven, L. (2013).  Developing OHS registries and community-engaged research on workplace health and safety: The experience of the SafetyNet Centre at Memorial University.  SafetyNet panel session at the CU Expo.  Corner Brook, NL, June 14.

Bornstein, S., Small, S., Butt, A., Demers, P., Dicks, E., Farrell, G., Fowler, K., Fox, G., Giles Murphy, T., Neis, B., Oudyk, J., & Takaro, T. (2013).  The development of an occupational disease registry of former workers of the asbestos mine in Baie Verte, Newfoundland and Labrador.  Poster presented at the Canadian Respiratory Conference.  Quebec City, QC, April 11-13.

Murphy, T., Oudyk, J., Demers, P., & Bornstein, S. (2012).  Quantifying the error associated with assigning the mean of a similar exposed group to a single individual within that group: An exploration using an asbestos exposure database.  Presentation to the Canadian Association for Research on Work and Health (CARWH) Annual Conference.  Vancouver, BC, June 1-2.

Giles Murphy, T., Oudyk, J., Demers, P., & Bornstein, S. (2011).  An asbestos exposure database for asbestos mine/mill workers (1976-1994).  Presentation to EPICOH (Scientific Committee on Epidemiology in Occupational Health).  Oxford, England, September.

Bornstein, S. (2010).  Designing an occupational disease registry for asbestos workers in Newfoundland.  Presentation to the Canadian Association for Research on Work and Health (CARWH) Annual Conference.  Toronto, ON, May 28.

Bornstein, S. (2010).  Dealing with the legacy of asbestos in Canada.  Presentation to the 13th Biennial Jerusalem Conference in Canadian Studies.  Mount Scopus Campus, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, June 28.

Giles Murphy, T., Oudyk, J., Demers, P., & Bornstein, S. (2010).  An asbestos exposure database for asbestos mine/mill workers (1977-1994).  Presentation to the Canadian Association for Research on Work and Health (CARWH) Annual Conference.  Toronto, ON, May 28.

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