Cassiar asbestos mine, near Yukon-B.C. border, one of province's most contaminated: mining watchdog

Caitrin Pilkington · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 09, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

The Cassiar asbestos excavation successful B.C. closed backmost successful 1992, but decades later, the B.C. Mining Law Reform Network says it remains among the astir polluted excavation sites successful the province. 

The excavation precocious made the organization's 2025 Dirty Dozen list. Co-chair Nikki Skuce said the web is progressively proceeding from erstwhile workers with wellness issues. 

"Lung diseases and asbestos-related diseases, which are beauteous deadly and awful, person a latency play of 10 to 40 years," she said. 

Asbestos — minerals that tin origin superior wellness concerns if breathed successful — tin no longer be imported, sold oregon utilized successful Canada. Organizations similar WorksafeBC accidental it inactive kills much workers successful the state than thing else. Some workers and residents from the erstwhile Cassiar excavation tract have died from antithetic lung diseases since the excavation shuttered.

The tract was taken implicit successful 2003 by Cassiar Jade Contracting Inc., which purchased the mine's operating licence for $1 nether the information it would instrumentality connected $50,000 worthy of reclamation enactment annually. The institution is present mining the tract for jade.

Skuce said she is acrophobic astir whether unsafe conditions persist astatine the mine.

"What are the precautions they're undertaking for that reclamation truthful they're not besides exposing caller radical to asbestos?" she said.

Cassiar Jade president Tony Ritter said the mining and reclamation enactment performed astatine the tract isn't dangerous. 

"There's galore information regulations and worldly we would person to follow, and you know, moving determination now, we travel them," Ritter said. "There's provisions to marque definite it's perfectly harmless and nobody's exposed to thing that would beryllium harmful to them.

"Throughout the past of the excavation determination and Cassiar, it was precise safe," helium added. When asked astir reports of erstwhile workers with cancer, Ritter said it's not wide there's a transportation to the mine.

"I couldn't say, I'm not a doctor," helium said. "I surely anticipation not, different I would astir apt beryllium beauteous sick by now." 

'Nobody ever told america it was dangerous'

Rose Peregoodoff grew up successful Cassiar, conscionable implicit 80 kilometres southbound of the Yukon border. Both her parents worked astatine the Cassiar mine.

"He was a drill blast foreman, truthful helium was the feline that made the large bang," she said. "He was beforehand and centre wherever they would stroke up the mountaintop … and each that particulate and everything … helium would beryllium inhaling." 

She said helium aboriginal developed asbestosis arsenic good arsenic mesothelioma, a crab associated with vulnerability to asbestos. 

"My parent utilized to shovel asbestos," she said. "Whatever fell disconnected the conveyor loop successful the excavation drive, the ladies would shovel backmost onto the belt.

"So my parent was close determination too, buried successful asbestos. Now she has large lung problems. And, you know, we don't cognize if it's from the asbestos oregon not."  

Peregoodoff said many children who lived successful the municipality ended up being exposed arsenic well. Former residents of Cassiar have described the clouds of particulate from the excavation that would autumn connected the town, covering the snowfall with a furniture of green. 

"We utilized to usage it arsenic papier mâché to marque creation projects successful school," she said. "Heck, we utilized to play successful the tailings pile. We'd descent down it successful the summertime with small boards and unreal we were sliding down a large snowfall hill." 

Years later, arsenic much and much radical she knows person wellness issues, the thought that her lungs could beryllium a ticking clip weaponry is ever successful the backmost of her mind. 

"Nobody ever told america it was dangerous," she said. "In school, they would travel successful with these small trays and they'd person these antithetic pieces of asbestos successful there, and they'd accidental we're doing truly good [at the mine]. These fibres are long, they're not going to beryllium an contented erstwhile you're older."

In fact, studies person found that vulnerability to longer fibres really increases the hazard of lung crab — though some agelong and abbreviated chrysotile asbestos fibres are toxic.

"We ate the snowfall erstwhile we were kids," Peregoodoff added. "Every kid eats snow. So however overmuch asbestos did we ingest?"

Skuce said if radical similar Peregoodoff — who weren't employed by the mining institution — make wellness issues, it tin beryllium hard for them to get support. 

"One erstwhile nonmigratory we talked to grew up determination eating snowfall covered successful asbestos dust," she said. "Folks similar him are near incapable to get WorkSafeBC claims."

Progress of remediation efforts

Twenty years aft the mine's sale, Cassiar Jade Contracting was fined $40,000 for failing to supply a reclamation program to the state and repeatedly failing to comply with inspection orders, including occupational wellness and information requirements.

During a proceeding with the province, a manager with the Watson Lake-based company stated that shutdown orders from inspectors pursuing asbestos vulnerability concerns stopped enactment astatine the tract for astir a year. 

Ritter besides told CBC that difficulties brought connected by COVID, arsenic good arsenic a institution they hired to implicit the plan, created delays with the report, but said that reclamation enactment is underway. 

The institution yet submitted a reclamation and closure program successful 2024. A fewer months later, the B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines issued an order that volition efficaciously extremity jade mining successful northwestern B.C., citing challenges astir permitting, compliance and enforcement successful the distant region. The institution has since launched a suit against the province.

Peregoodoff believes regulators should person stepped successful sooner to woody with the asbestos tailings heap astatine the site. 

"Now, erstwhile the large winds travel on and stroke that ungraded and particulate everywhere, it's inactive contaminating the area," said Peregoodoff. "Like who knows what it's doing to the animals determination and each the Tlingit and Tahltan and Kaska radical that hunt up there." 

"I'm definite there's immoderate valid concerns there," said Ritter, erstwhile asked astir Peregoodoff's concerns and the excavation site's inclusion successful the B.C. Mining Law Reform Network's list. "And to me, that would beryllium different payment [of continuing]."

Ritter said determination is magnesium successful the tailings heap that could beryllium recovered and "enhance the reclamation process." They're besides investigating for copper and different minerals astatine the site.

Today, Cassiar, B.C., is simply a shade town. But Ritter hopes the company's activities volition spark caller beingness successful the portion — and bring jobs to the neighbouring communities of Dease Lake successful B.C and Watson Lake successful the Yukon.

"Some benignant of accumulation would beryllium champion for everybody. For america and everybody successful the area."