For 25 years, Wolfgang Von Palleske would come home every day from his job at the Johns Manville asbestos plant near Toronto, throw his arms open, and greet his wife Doreen and daughters Heidi and Aurora with a big hug. As they shared this warm greeting, little bits of asbestos clinging to Wolfgang’s work clothes would float into the air and sparkle. They called it “fairy dust.” What they didn’t know was that the “fairy dust” which seemed so magical and whimsical at the time would ultimately claim the lives of both Wolfgang and Doreen.
Wolfgang died four years ago following a bout with mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Doreen died only a few weeks ago following her own bout with mesothelioma. Doreen never personally worked with asbestos. Her exposure was from the asbestos or “fairy dust” brought home from the Johns Manville plant on Wolfgang’s work clothes.
Heidi and Aurora were with their mother when she died. The memory of those last few hours will stay with them forever. Today, Heidi and Aurora live in fear that they may be the next victims of the “fairy dust.” They have both had CT scans of their lungs. Heidi’s lungs are clear, at least for now, but Aurora has significant scarring and liquid on her lungs, a worrisome condition that is almost certainly due to asbestos exposure. Both sisters will have to be monitored closely for the rest of their lives.
Rather than sit back and lament their family’s grave misfortune resulting from their father’s work for Johns Manville, Heidi and Aurora are taking action to try to prevent other families from experiencing the same nightmare.
The nation of Canada does not allow asbestos to be used in products sold in Canada, However, Canadian asbestos mines currently export hundreds of thousands of tons of asbestos to countries such as India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and others where there are lax or non-existent regulations on asbestos. In addition, efforts are being made by a foreign consortium to purchase the world’s largest asbestos mine in the city of Asbestos, Quebec, with assistance from the Canadian government, and further increase asbestos production.
The callous disregard for the effects of Canadian asbestos exports was recently exhibited by Canadian asbestos mine owner Bernard Coulumbe when he stated in an interview on national television in the United States that it’s ok to sell asbestos to India because “they are used to pollution.”
Even more callous is Canada’s recent blockage of an effort by the United Nations to add chrysotile asbestos, a known carcinogen, to an international list of hazardous chemicals.
In a plea to right this grave injustice, Heidi sent the following letter to Quebec Premier Jean Charest:
Dear Mr. Charest:
I have recently read that you are extending your deadline on the Jeffrey Mine application for financing their expansion. Was this not the same mine that was once owned by the now bankrupt John's Manville Company. Certainly Mr. Coloumbe worked for Johns Manville before he worked for the jeffrey Mine. And Johns Manville once boasted the largest open air asbestos mine in North America -- located in Quebec.
Your extension was granted a week and a day after the death of my mother. My mother died from para-occupational (chrysotile) asbestos exposure. I was with her as she fought for each breath. The time was measured in seconds, not minutes as she gasped and squeaked and gurgled. Although she was plugged into an oxygen machine, the mesothelioma had advanced to the point that the oxygen could not be circulated. Her legs slowly turned bluish purple, as did her hands. "I doubt she will last the night" the nurse said. So I waited with my sister. Squeezing water into her mouth, drop by drop. Trying to hear her as she started a mantra -- saying each child and grandchild's name... adding "love you" in an inaudible whisper. The image of the last few breaths will stay with me forever. The gasp, the shudder, the shudder again. Then nothing. Then suddenly another struggled gasp and convulsive shudders. Strangling sounds. Wheeze, squeak, shudder. Nothing. Just a contorted face, a gaping mouth, and silence. Those images will be added to the images of my father's dying which happened 4 years earlier. Same disease. Same killer -- chrysotile. It really does not matter what the Chrysotile Institute tells me. I have watched only two people die in my life and both were my parents. Horrible, horrible deaths. Rasping and torturous. Imagine a pillow over your face and with every breath you try to take, someone presses that pillow a little harder over your nose and mouth. That is the last few weeks for a mesothelioma patient. That is the legacy of all asbestos.
The thing is, when my father worked for Johns Manville, the workers were not informed of the hazards of (chrysotile ) asbestos. Yet Johns Manville had done a study in 1930 which had already determined the dangers. How is it that the Canadian government allowed this company to operate, murdering every employee, and threatening the wives and children of the employees? How did that happen? And how is it that the Quebec Government promotes a substance that every G8 country, excluding Canada, condemns?
I have just read in the Globe And Mail of a family (O'Donnells) in Campbellford. The father also worked at Johns Manville. Father and mother -- both dead. Brother and sister -- both dead. And now the son has also been diagnosed with Mesothelioma. The 48 year old son watched his family die and now that is all he has to look forward to. Once there is a diagnosis from a Cat scan, the patient only has 4-18 months to live. Johns Manville and the asbestos industry wiped out his entire family and now, he too will die. It is three generations that are being punished because the grandchildren will face a life without their parents. My sister and I have been tested with CT scans. My sister has scarring and fluid on her lungs, which is worrying. We will both be doing blood tests for early (if there is such a thing) detection. My question to you is this: If I test positive for mesothelioma, who exactly is going to care for my 11 year old child?
Now how about Bernard Columbe? What a guy! Saying on Jon Stewart that Indians are immune to asbestos fibers because of all the pollution in India. Did the Chrysotile Institution tell him that? And there has been no public apology for the ignorance and racism of that remark! How can the government keep backing an industry whose front man is racist and ignorant? We have seen the documentaries. We know that chrysotile is not being handled properly in India. We also know that the poorest, most needy people are the ones handling the substance. Now you can claim that it is not your concern, that it is the Indian Governments concern, but if we know that our product is causing harm, if we know that Indian Officials are not safe guarding the workers, then aren't we morally obligated to do something? Even if it is as little as allowing chrysotile to be added to the list at the Rotterdam Convention. No, we keep supplying third world countries with the very weapon that will eventually kill the poorest amongst them, and in a most painful manner. There is a word for profiting off the poor. The word is, exploitation. Our government makes any 18th century Imperialist Government look as warm and fuzzy as Mr. Harper's vest!
Excuse me if I seem a bit bitter. I am still dealing with the unnecessary and unfair death of my mother and the fear that my sister, my three brothers or I could also go the same way. My mother's wish, in the end, was that others would not suffer as she has. There is one way, and one way only, to prevent Mesothelioma. Ban asbestos, and the exportation of asbestos, world wide.
Now about your little extension. This is the second one. Why make deadlines when you cannot keep your word and stick to them? I am quite sure that if they don't make this one, you'll just grant another extension....
You know something, your industry doesn't seem all that important to me compared to my mom's dying, my dad's painful death, my sister's scarred lungs and the 55,000 Indian workers and all their wives and children, who will most likely fall to the fate of a painful death from Mesothelioma in 20-50 years.
Sincerly, Heidi von Palleske
Heidi’s 11 year-old daughter Cavanaugh also joined the effort. She wrote the following heart-felt letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during what proved to be the final days of her grandmother’s life:
Cavanagh Matmor to: Stephan Harper,
I am a 11 year old girl and my grandmother is dying of methothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos. She might be dead right now. My grandfather died of methothelioma because he worked in a asbestos factory. I was in TimHortens when my mom got a call from Aunt Aurora(her sister that lives with grandma Dodee) saying that my grandma was in a coma. Can you stop saying you're right when you`re killing thousands.I don`t want people in india to experience what im going through. We need to make a change and the first thing we can do is stop exporting asbestos
Sincerely,
Cavanagh Matmor
Cavanagh received the following response from the Prime Minister’s office:
Subject: Office of the Prime Minister / Cabinet du Premier minister
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:09:14 -0400
Dear Cavanagh:
I would like to acknowledge receipt of your email regarding asbestos.
Thank you for taking the time to write to the Prime Minister and for sharing a description of the circumstances with which you have been dealing. Your efforts to bring this situation to the Government's attention are appreciated and you may be assured that your comments have been carefully noted.
I have taken the liberty of forwarding copies of your message to the Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources. I am certain the Minister will appreciate being made aware of the situation you have described. This referral is made not out of lack of interest or disrespect, but to allow the officials more closely connected with the issue a chance to provide a meaningful reply to your message.
Once again, thank you for writing to share your experience, and please accept my sincere condolences.
P. Monteith Executive Correspondence Officer
for the Prime Minister's Office
Agent de correspondance
de la haute direction
pour le Cabinet du Premier minister
The Pacific Meso Center expresses its sincerest sympathies for the horrible tragedy that this family has been forced to endure as a result of Wolfgang’s work with deadly asbestos “fairy dust.” We are also moved by the bravery, strength and compassion of the surviving family members as they try to compel government and industry to listen to their family’s story as an example of what will continue to happen to countless others if asbestos is not banned, once and for all, around the world.
For more information, follow these links to radio interviews and articles regarding Heidi and her family:
