WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which combines education, advocacy, and community to help ensure justice for asbestos victims, today issued this statement from ADAO President and Co-Founder Linda Reinstein, in opposition to the legislation introduced today by U.S. Sens. David Vitter (R-LA) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) inappropriately named the "Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act". The bill purportedly designed to protect the public from toxic substances would allow asbestos to remain legal and widely used in the U.S.
“Asbestos exposure in the U.S. alone is responsible for at least 10,000 Americans dying each year from asbestos-related diseases,” said Linda Reinstein, president and co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization. “The fact that the Vitter-Udall bill will not even restrict, much less ban, the deadly substance that claims 30 lives a day is nothing short of a national travesty. Any Senator who supports this industry proposal is in essence supporting the continuation of the toll asbestos has already had on millions of American families.”
The bill, embraced by the chemical industry, is widely considered to be worse than the current federal chemicals law, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA - a law so broken that EPA was unable to ban asbestos back in 1989.
“Any ‘chemical safety’ bill that does not ban asbestos isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on,” added Reinstein. “No other toxic chemical claims more lives and leaves more families without mothers, fathers, sons and daughters than asbestos. And the legislation offered by Mr. Udall and Mr. Vitter will only expose future generations to asbestos and many other highly toxic chemicals.”
About the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) was founded by asbestos victims and their families in 2004. ADAO is the largest non-profit in the U.S. dedicated to providing asbestos victims and concerned citizens with a united voice through our education, advocacy, and community initiatives. ADAO seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure, advocate for an asbestos ban, and protect asbestos victims’ civil rights. For more information, visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.
