IT'S all in a name for the Canadian locality of Asbestos, where the residents have just voted for a less carcinogenic title for their home town.
About 7,000 people live in the community about 160km east of Montreal, which was named after the mineral, known as "white gold", which formed the economic foundation for the region for over 100 years.
Rather than being called Asbestos, the Quebec locality is being renamed Val-des-Sources, or French for Spring Valley.
The change was confirmed by local Mayor Hugues Grimard, who said it was a "very emotional subject".
Asbestos was built around the Jeffrey Mine, which was once the biggest source of asbestos in the world, before the World Health Organization declared that it caused cancer in 1987.
In a campaign to promote the name change city officials noted on Facebook that "the word 'Asbestos' unfortunately does not have a good connotation, particularly in English-speaking circles".
A name change was first proposed in 2006, but the plan was abandoned after receiving minimal support from locals proud of their asbestos heritage.
However in the most recent poll Val-des-Sources was chosen having received just over 51% of the votes.
The name change is now expected to be formalised before the end of the year, with Grimard saying "it'll be a nice Christmas present".
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 22 Oct 20
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