National Asbestos Awareness Week
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What started as National Asbestos Awareness Day in 2005 has become National Asbestos Awareness Week, providing more opportunities to educate the public to the world-wide health problem caused by this toxic substance.
The week was April 1-7, and it was highlighted by the three-day, eighth annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference in Los Angeles, California. The conference, hosted by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, brought together a variety of experts to discuss asbestos issues, advancements in treatments for mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases and a number of other topics.
Setting the stage for the week were speakers like Arthur Frank, Ph.D., co-chairman of ADAO's Science Advisory Board and chairman of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at Drexel University; Fernanda Giannasi, the Safety and Healthy engineer who has fought the asbestos war in Brazil; Barbara Minty McQueen, widow of iconic actor and mesothelioma victim Steve McQueen; Joel Shufro, executive director of New York City Occupational Safety and Health who has worked with the asbestos fallout from the 9/11 World Trade Center attack; and Daniel Sterman, M.D., the co-director of the University of Pennsylvania Mesothelioma Program.
Although asbestos is banned in more than 50 countries around the world, it continues to be imported into the United States for commercial uses, which continues to baffle and infuriate anyone with knowledge of the damage that asbestos does to public health.
"People can make money from asbestos. That's why it's still being used," Frank said. "It's hard to imagine that 55 countries are smarter than America, but it's true. They have banned it. We have not. That says something about our politics, our approach to health and well-being, our world today."
Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma, the relatively rare cancer that is diagnosed in an estimated 3,000 Americans annually. An estimated 10,000 people die each year from an asbestos-related disease.
The first Asbestos Awareness Day was April 1, 2005, prompted by a resolution from United States Senators Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) at the urging of the ADAO, the most recognized victim/advocacy group of its kind.
In 2009, both Senate Resolution 57 and House of Representatives Resolution 1138 called for a National Asbestos Awareness Week as part of the 111th Congress. The ADAO also has begun calling it "Global Asbestos Awareness Week."
ADAO, which pushed for Reid's original resolution, was founded in 2004 by the families of two mesothelioma victims. The organization promotes education, awareness, prevention, rights for victims and continues to push for a complete ban on asbestos in the United States.
Reid's first resolution was especially prophetic because shortly afterward, several federal employees who worked in the tunnels under the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court and many Congressional official buildings nearby, were diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses.
The heating and cooling systems within those tunnels had been coated with asbestos, serving as insulation and a fire retardant, and the age of the material had left it brittle. Many of the workers there had been without the proper safety equipment for years.
Learn About Asbestos and Mesothelioma
To learn more about mesothelioma and support resources available to patients and families of mesothelioma patients, fill out this form to receive a free informational packet in the mail. The packet is chock-full of information about doctors, treatments and clinical trials. It also contains a range of details about doctors and cancer centers that treat mesothelioma.
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Last Modified Friday, April 27th, 2012 | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy |
The information provided by The Mesothelioma Center is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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