Asbestos News

The dredging of a river in British Columbia, Canada, for asbestos will continue into 2011.

The city of Abbotsford will need to keep dredging the Sumas River because the naturally occurring mineral is carried from the river's source in the U.S. and settles in its sediment, according to the Abbotsford News.

While the river has been dredged every year as a flood-control measure, the presence of asbestos requires that special precautions be taken as exposure to the deadly substance can cause malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.

"There's a chance it could be dangerous," city general manager of engineering Jim Gordon told the news source. "If there’s a chance, we have to take the proper measures."

Recent sampling of the sediment showed that the amount of asbestos remained approximately the same as it was last year.

"Testing indicated that sediments from the dredging locations closer to the Canada-U.S. border contained higher asbestos levels than locations further downstream," Mayor George Peary said in a press release. "Also similar to the 2009 investigation, there was a spike in asbestos levels at the location downstream of the confluence with McKay Creek, however, no contamination was found