WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the largest non-profit in the U.S. dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure, eliminating asbestos-related diseases, and protecting asbestos victims’ civil rights; today praised the Senate for the unanimous passage of the Twelfth Annual Resolution establishing “National Asbestos Awareness Week” (S.Res. 376). Led by Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and bipartisan co-sponsors, the Resolution seeks to “raise public awareness about the prevalence of asbestos-related diseases and the dangers of asbestos exposure”, underscoring ADAO’s important mission of education, advocacy, and community to put an end to asbestos exposure.
“The only way to end the seemingly unrelenting tragedy associated with asbestos exposure, is prevention,” stated ADAO Co-founder and President Linda Reinstein. “We are enormously thankful to Senator Markey, Resolution co-sponsors, and the entire Senate for unanimously establishing the 12th Annual ‘National Asbestos Awareness Week’. Up to 15,000 Americans die each year from preventable asbestos-caused diseases while imports continue.” Reinstein said, “Undoubtedly, the Resolution’s momentum and U.S. Surgeon General’s asbestos warning will raise awareness and save lives. During the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Conference Committee negotiations, we urge them to make certain the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can expeditiously ban asbestos, once and for all.”
“It is admirable that the U.S. Senate has passed the Twelfth Annual Resolution establishing “National Asbestos Awareness Week”, however, I would hope that the Congress will now step-up-to-the-plate and take the necessary steps to end the suffering and death still inflected on the American people through the continued use of asbestos in the United States and ban further use of asbestos, an action long overdue,” stated Richard Lemen, PhD, MSPH Former Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS (Ret.).
ADAO will hold its 12th Annual International Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference “Where Knowledge and Action Unite,” April 8 – 10, 2016 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA. Global experts will speak on the latest advancements in asbestos disease prevention, treatment for mesothelioma and other asbestos-caused diseases, prevention, and global asbestos ban advocacy.
Exposure to asbestos, a human carcinogen, can cause mesothelioma, lung, gastrointestinal, colorectal, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers; as well as non-malignant lung and pleural disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 107,000 workers around the world will die every year of an asbestos-related disease, equaling 300 deaths per day.
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.