"MONTREAL -- For eight months, the Quebec government has been holding on to a report that explores the link between asbestos-related cancer and Canada's only community that still mines the substance.

The study is believed to be the first Canadian research to look at asbestos-related cancer in a specific region, examining the risk of disease in and around Thetford Mines, Que. Quebec's public health institute delivered the completed report to regional officials and the provincial Health Department in March.

But the study, and its potentially alarming conclusions, still hasn't been made public. Officials say that will finally happen this month."

Andy Blatchford reports for the Canadian Press December 3, 2009. [2]