Creepy ad touts benefits of asbestos, features photo of WTC
29 Apr 2009 by Wendi Lewis under Events, News
A friend recently forwarded me a link to a web site that features an ad touting the wonders of asbestos for fire protection, highlighted by a photo of the World Trade Center’s twin towers. The ad was produced in 1981, so it’s not a matter of bad taste, just creepy in light of the September 11 disaster, and ironic because the presence of asbestos in the towers has been a source of health problems for the disaster’s first responders, among the many dangerous toxins released when the buildings collapsed.
The ad references fire alarms, most likely referring to a Feb. 13, 1975 fire that broke out on the 11th floor of the North Tower. But it hits a little too close to home after the events that would take place a little over 25 years later.
On the anniversary of the 2001 tragedy last year, we discussed the ongoing studies being conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygeine on the effects of exposure to the dust released in the catastrophe. The study included close to 5,000 samples of airborne asbestos collected by the EPA in lower Manhattan between Sept. 11, 2001 and Jan. 22, 2002, many of which exceeded “safety” standards.
It is ironic that the ad for asbestos prominently features the tag line “when life depends on it, you use asbestos.”
In 1981, the asbestos industry was already under scrutiny for the link between asbestos and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects the lining of the lungs, and sometimes the stomach and/or heart. Most recent studies by the National Cancer Institute show that people with even brief exposure to asbestos are at risk. There is no “safe” level of asbestos exposure.
We recently have added a petition to this site urging the U.S. Congress to finally support a total ban of asbestos in the United States, and to provide funding for mesothelioma research. Please sign the petition, and add your voice to this fight.
The New York State Department of Health has been collecting information about deaths among World Trade Center responders, recovery workers and volunteers since shortly after the tragedy.
As of June 2008, the program had identified 382 people who worked at the WTC site who had passed away, and confirmed 204 causes of death, including 30 deaths resulting from respiratory and intrathoracic organ disease. In an updated report released in December 2008, the number of deaths of people who worked at the WTC had jumped to 713 people, with 548 confirmed causes of death. The number of deaths attributed to respiratory and intrathoracic organ disease is noted at 56, accounting for 14.1 percent of the deaths.
Of course, these numbers are general, and not specifically linked to asbestos inhalation, but the report does note that 30.2 percent of the confirmed causes of death of people who worked at the WTC are releated to “exposure to harmful substances or environments,” and 27.3 percent specifically related to “ingestion of substance.”
