Not three months ago, on Dec. 31, it was announced that football and television star Merlin Olsen had been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Today I learned that he has passed away, a victim of this horrible disease that lies in wait to kill. He was only 69 years old.

Olsen was a star defensive lineman for the Los Angeles Rams football team, who went on to a television acting career. He played Jonathan Garvey on the series Little House on the Prairie and was the title character of Father Murphy. He also appeared on Fathers and Sons and Aaron’s Way, and filled the role of sportscaster at both CBS and NBC.

Online celebrity news magazine TMZ broke the news in December that Olsen and his family had filed a lawsuit against several companies, including NBC Studios, NBC Universal and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, claiming they were responsible for exposing him to asbestos, which causes mesothelioma. Also named in the suit are Sherwin Williams and Lennox Industries, whose products Olsen says he was exposed to during jobs in his youth.

Read his obituary in the Los Angeles Times.

On December 8, 2009, his alma mater, Utah State University, where he was selected twice as an NCAA All-American, among other honors, announced it would name its football field after him – Merlin Olsen Field. How truly sad that he will never see a team take the field that now bears his name. Watch the tribute video created by the university at the announcement:

What a sad loss of a man who truly seemed to care genuinely for others, for his family and his community. He will be genuinely missed.

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (Meso Foundation) announced registration is now open for the 2010 International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma. The event is set for June 10-12 in Washington, D.C. The annual event includes science presentations from leading mesothelioma experts, breakout sessions for patients, families/caregivers and bereaved, and many community and social activities.

A special part of the Symposium activities is Advocacy Day, during which meso patients and their families travel to Capitol Hill to meet with their Senators and Representatives to ask for increased funding for mesothelioma research and treatment, and for the complete ban of asbestos in the United States.

I had the pleasure of attending this event last year and it is truly an amazing experience. There are touching tributes to those who have lost the fight against mesothelioma, and inspiring stories from those who are winning this battle. You can also gain so much knowledge from the many physicians and researchers who present programs. Many of them are open and available to talk with attendees throughout the conference as well.

You can find more information, including a video and archives of last year’s Symposium presentations, at www.curemeso.org/symposium. You can also view the agenda and register at the web site.  Or, call the Meso Foundation toll free at 877-363-6376.

This week the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) praised Senate leaders for a resolution that declares the first week of April 2010 as “National Asbestos Awareness Week.” This is the sixth year in a row that the ADAO has been active in working with Senate leaders to secure a national resolution in recognition of the dangers of asbestos.

The resolution is sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.). Co-sponsors and key supporters are Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

A news release from the ADAO quotes the organization’s Co-Founder and Executive Director Linda Reinstein as saying, “We are grateful to the U.S. Senate to have the opportunity to help raise the level of public awareness about the prolific dangers of asbestos and further unite doctors, scientists, and public health advocates during National Asbestos Awareness Week for this important effort. During the past six years, ADAO has seen the progress and indeed, this confirms what Americans deserve and want. We know asbestos prevention and education will save lives and dollars.”

The ADAO was founded by asbestos victims and their families in 2004. It seeks to give asbestos victims and concerned citizens a united voice to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure. ADAO’s mission includes supporting global advocacy and advancing asbestos awareness, prevention, early detection, treatment, and resources for asbestos-related disease.

Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and exposure can cause asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. According to the ADAO news release, studies estimate that during the next decade 100,000 workers around the world will die of an asbestos-related disease. This equals 30 deaths per day.

The ADAO annually holds a conference in conjunction with National Asbestos Awareness Week. The Sixth Annual International Asbestos Conference is set for April 10, 2010, in Chicago, Ill.

For more information about ADAO or for conference registration, visit ADAO online at www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.

The G. R. Little Theatre and the north and south wings of the G.R. Little Library on the campus of Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, NC, are closed until mid-April while crews remove asbestos from the facilities. According to a report by staff writer Kristin Pitts, which appears in the Daily Advance, the asbestos removal is part of a planned renovation that will make the existing facilities more energy efficient. The university is in compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for safe asbestos removal.

According to the news report, university spokeswoman Kesha Williams says that other ECSU buildings could potentially contain asbestos, as the material was commonly used in construction prior to the 1970s. However, the material is generally not dangerous unless it is disturbed. The university was proactive in securing an asbestos abatement company to safely remove the existing asbestos during its remodeling of the library and theatre buildings.

During processes like remodeling and demolition, materials containing asbestos may release microscopic fibers that can be inhaled into the lungs. Inhaled asbestos fibers may cause asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs, or mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that may affect the lining of the chest and lungs, the abdomen, or, more rarely, the heart.

The news report says Clean Air Environmental, Inc., a Winston-Salem based company, has been contracted to remove the asbestos from the library and theatre buildings. Project manager Omar Martinez told the paper that the company is currently completing the second phase of what it expects will be a three-part asbestos removal process. He told the reporter that the company is using “negative airs and amended water to capture any [asbestos] fibers” and workers double-bag hazardous materials and properly dispose of the hazardous waste to ensure the safety of workers, students and others on campus in the area of the project.

Energy-saving equipment planned for the library and theatre buildings include new lighting fixtures and an upgraded heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit.

Health officials in South Korea are recording significant increases in asbestos-related diseases among the country’s population, including asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma. According to a report by TIME Magazine, the number of mesothelioma diagnoses increased from just 12 in 2001, to 55 new cases in 2007, the most recent year that data is available. It is, “in public health terms, a notable increase,” TIME quotes Paek Dom-yung, an occupational medicine professor at Seoul National University.

While South Korea enjoyed a boom in urban development from the 1960s through the 1980s, it is becoming evident the country’s lax rules on asbestos regulation may have exposed millions of people to health hazards. According to the TIME report, Seoul did not place a full ban on asbestos manufacturing, import and use until last year. It also had no regulations in place for the safe removal of existing asbestos during demolition and remodeling projects.

Now, trade and labor unions in South Korea are calling for the government to take responsibility for workers it knowingly exposed to deadly asbestos, and who are now suffering as a result.

Due to the long latency period between exposure and the development of mesothelioma or other asbestos diseases – which can be as long as 20-50 years – South Korean health officials are bracing for a future epidemic. It is predicted that the incidence of mesothelioma diagnoses in the region will not peak until around 2030.

I am super-late in posting this, but I wanted to share some photos from Heather Von St. James and family’s annual Lung Leavin’ Day celebration. Those of you who have followed Heather’s story here on myMeso know that this is the day that commemorates Heather’s decision to undergo an extrapleural pneumonectomy to remove her mesothelioma tumor.

Prior to the surgery, which removed Heather’s lung and part of her diaphragm, along with the cancer, her family gathered for the first Lung Leavin’ Day. They wrote their fears on plates and smashed them in the fire – a symbolic conquering! Today, Heather celebrates four years cancer free! The 4th Annual Lung Leavin’ Day Celebration was held Feb. 6, and Heather reports that more than 60 people joined her for the festivities. What a wonderful blessing to see Heather healthy and happy, surrounded by friends and loved ones!

Those of us who could not be there in person were there in spirit. Even our good friend Debbie Brewer celebrated “across the pond” in the U.K. I substituted a paper plate and the fireplace for china and a bonfire, but the sentiment was the same nonetheless. We love you Heather, and look forward to many more Lung Leavin’ Days in the future!

Pictured below is a photo of the fire, surrounded by broken plate shards.

Heather lit a candle in tribute to those who have lost their battle with mesothelioma, as well as in honor of those who are still fighting the battle. The names of the meso warriors were posted.

A December report by the New York Times revealed that Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana) has inserted language into the government’s proposed health care legislation that would provide coverage specifically for people exposed to asbestos in Libby, Montana. According to the report, language in the bill would expand Medicare coverage to vicitims of “environmental health hazards.”

According to the Times, the language is even more precise, calling for coverage for “individuals exposed to environmental health hazards recognized as a public health emergency in a declaration issued by the fedearl government on June 17.” This declaration and date, of course, coincides with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s designation of Libby as a Public Health Emergency area.

The Times quotes Baucus as saying the language is not only intended for the people of Libby, but for anyone in the future whose town is affected by a similar tragedy that affects the health and well-being of its people. He said the legislation would provide a safety net to “help people when they need it most.”

Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed their versions of the health care reform bill last year. It is now up to the 111th Congress as a whole to reconcile the two bills so that they may be presented to President Obama for his signature.

Congressional leaders say they hope to accomplish this by the end of January.

On Monday, December 28, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) will continue a longstanding tradition of lighting a candle in memory of those loved ones lost to mesothelioma. This is actually the first of two candlelighting ceremonies. The second will be held Monday, January 4, 2010, in honor of all the mesothelioma “warriors” still battling and conquering this devastating disease.

You are invited to add the name of your loved one to ADAO’s master list, either in memory or in honor of someone you love. This project is conducted in conjunction with the Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR). View the list, or email acor@AsbestosDiseaseAwareness.org to add a name to the list.

Linda Reinstein, ADAO’s co-founder, says, “Since founding ADAO in March 2004, thanks to the efforts for our all-volunteer organization, we have grown beyond our initial expectations. Our passion and commitment to preventing asbestos exposure, offering support and resources and remaining unwaveringly committed to banning asbestos and funding research for a cure has gained momentum and recognition on The Hill. You have been heard! Thank you for your continued support of ADAO, ‘the voice of the victims,’ as together, change is possible.”

Please join the mesothelioma community on Monday and light your candle in memory of those whose battle has sadly ended, and make plans to celebrate the life of a meso warrior on January 4.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization has announced registration is now open for its Sixth Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference. The conference is scheduled for April 9-11, 2010 in Chicago, Ill. This annual event brings together renowned doctors, scientists, researchers and asbestos victims and their families in a united forum for asbestos awareness, education and collaboration. Each year the event coincides with national Asbestos Awareness Day, April 1.

In addition to providing educational information, advocacy support, a special remembrance ceremony and networking opportunities, each year the conference honors individuals or organizations that have demonstrated outstanding work and dedication to asbestos awareness related activities. ADAO has announced this year’s honorees:

• The Honorable Richard Durbin, United States Senator – Tribute of Hope Award
• Dr. Hedy Kindler – Selikoff Lifetime Achievement Award
• Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD), Libby, Montana – Tribute of Unity Award
• Fernanda Giannasi – Tribute of Inspiration Award
• June Breit (posthumous) – The Alan Reinstein Memorial Award

At the conference, the ADAO also will announce the recipient of the Warren Zevon “Keep Me in Your Heart” Memorial Tribute.

“I’ve received countless requests for my father’s song, ‘Keep Me in Your Heart,’ to be used at memorials for asbestos victims,” said ADAO Spokesperson Jordan Zevon. Jordan is the son of Warren Zevon, acclaimed singer and songwriter, who died of mesothelioma in 2003. “You can imagine how proud it makes me to know that my father’s Grammy winning song has touched so many families, but it is bittersweet because of the nature of those requests. In his honor, I will continue to work with ADAO to ban asbestos to spare future generations from the same fate.”

“As we get closer to a full asbestos ban, we are encouraged, yet simultaneously reminded that the reverberations of asbestos exposure can last decades,” said Linda Reinstein, Co-Founder and Executive Director of ADAO. “Our annual conferences drive home the importance of the need for increased awareness, education and research.”

Additional conference details are available on the ADAO web site, and online registration is available at http://www.adao.eventbrite.com.

The International Asbestos Awareness Conference is made possible with the support and collaborative efforts of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS).

In a news release yesterday the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) applauded a recent decision by the American Public Health Association (APHA) to strengthen its policy against asbestos. The APHA has adopted a resolution calling on Congress to ban the manufacture, sale, export or import of asbestos containing products. ADAO co-founder Linda Reinstein says she hopes this is one more step forward in finally securing a total ban of asbestos in the United States.

According to its web site, the ADPH is the largest, oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world, and has been working to improve public health since 1872. The association “aims to protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States.”

“We can’t let history repeat itself,” Reinstein said in the news release. “APHA renews our optimism that a federal asbestos ban is imminent.”

The APHA resolution for the elimination of asbestos includes a brief history of the known links between asbestos and adverse health effects, including malignant respiratory disease, including asbestosis, lung and other cancers, specifically mesothelioma. It also states that the organization opposes legislation that would limit the right of victims of asbestos disease to recover damages from asbestos manufacturers, and supports the Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008.

In order to strengthen its stance on asbestos, the resolution not only calls for the complete ban on the manufacture, sale, export or import of asbestos-containing products, but also recommends the U.S. Congress should direct research funding to identify public health hazards resulting from asbestos mining or excavation of minerals that occur naturally with asbestos. It urges the U.S. Surgeon General to warn and educate people annually about the public health issues related to asbestos exposure (building on a similar warning issued in April this year) and to “disseminate widely and annually its asbestos warning to all federal and state health, consumer, labor and environmental protection agencies.”

The resolution also recommends that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issue an annual statement to alert workers in high-risk occupations to the dangers and adverse health risks associated with asbestos.

Other recommendations address testing existing structures for the presence of asbestos, and asking the government to take a harder stance against asbestos manufacturing, sale and exportation by other nations, as well as by corporations, calling for a global ban on asbestos.

The ADAO news release quotes Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH, who is Chair of the ADPH Occupational Health and Safety section, as saying, “With this new policy, the ADPH is joining the World Federation of Public Health Associations and other international organizations calling for a global ban on asbestos mining and manufacturing, and the dangerous practice of exporting asbestos containing products.”

Read the ADAO News Release.

Read the full APHA Resolution.