1970-1979: Miners suffer from lung diseases

Silicosis is the most common occupational lung disease worldwide. It is caused by inhaling silica dust in mines and quarries and can take 20 years to develop. The same with asbestosis and various cancers caused by exposure to workplace chemicals and radiation. In the 1970s, these diseases started appearing in asbestos miners in Newfoundland and Quebec, smelter workers in British Columbia, and uranium miners in Elliot Lake, Ontario.

(Source: Dying for a job, The CBC Digital Archives Website, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, http://cbc.ca/news/background/workplace-safety/dyingforajob.html)