Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange presented a proclamation today declaring April 1-7 as Asbestos Awareness Week in the city of Montgomery, Alabama. The proclamation supports National Asbestos Awareness Week, as established by Senate Resolution 427.

It is the purpose of Asbestos Awareness Week to raise public awareness about the prevalence of asbestos and the dangers of asbestos exposure in the United States and around the world. Microscopic asbestos fibers can be inhaled or ingested, and imbed themselves in the body where they can cause diseases such as asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs, and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that can affect the chest and lungs, the abdomen or the heart.

The U.S. Congress has recognized a National Asbestos Awareness Day or Week for the past six years. The awareness effort is a project of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which is the largest organization in the United States serving as the voice of asbestos victims. The ADAO lobbies for the complete ban of asbestos and asbestos-containing products in the U.S. It is estimated that within the next decade 100,000 workers around the world will die of an asbestos-related disease. That equals 30 deaths each day.

For more information, visit ADAO online.

Traditionally, April 1 has been designated by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) as Asbestos Awareness Day. The day has been officially recognized by U.S. Congress proclamation for the past six years. In recent years, the awareness effort has expanded, and now the first week of April is officially designated as Asbestos Awareness Week. The theme for the awareness week is “Knowledge is stronger than asbestos.”

On March 26, the ADAO praised the U.S. Senate for passage of the sixth annual resolution establishing National Asbestos Awareness Week. Senate Resolution 427 also urges the Surgeon General to warn and educate Americans about the severe hazards of asbestos exposure.

The ADAO is the largest organization in the United States serving as the voice of asbestos victims, and lobbies for the complete ban of asbestos and asbestos-containing products in the U.S. Asbestos exposure is linked to the development of a number of diseases, including asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs; and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and chest, abdomen or the heart. According to statistics compiled by ADAO, in the next decade it is estimated that 100,000 workers around the world will die of an asbestos-related disease. This equals 30 deaths each day.

ADAO co-founder and CEO Linda Reinstein said, “We are grateful to the U.S. Senate for unanimously passing S. Res. 427 that will increase public awareness about asbestos, a known human carcinogen. For the past six years, ADAO has seen that a week of awareness enables agencies, institutions and organizations to promote regulatory compliance and enforcement. Americans deserve and want to know how to prevent asbestos in their homes or in the workplace.”

Asbestos Awareness Week 2010 will be held April 1-7. Visit ADAO online for more information about asbestos and its commercial use; how to prevent exposure in homes, schools and workplaces; early warning symptoms and medical treatment options; and to find out more about why asbestos is still not a banned product in the U.S. and how it is used in common household products.

Linda Reinstein, co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) recently had the opportunity to participate on a panel discussion as part of an Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) public meeting. The event, held March 4 and called “OSHA Listens” was designed to solicit comments and suggestions from OSHA stakeholders on key issues facing the agency. As a representative of ADAO, Ms. Reinstein was able to address OSHA leaders about the urgency and importance of a complete ban on asbestos. The meeting was held in Washington, D.C.

The program was designed to help OSHA learn about key areas that will enhance and encourage the efforts of employers, workers and unions to identify and address workplace hazards. The agency asked for feedback about emerging unaddressed health and safety issues, how to improve efforts to engage stakeholder in program and initiatives, and for help in identifying priorities.

Ms. Reinstein, who lost her husband Alan to mesothelioma in 2004 as a result of his exposure to asbestos in the workplace, was joined on the panel by others who had lost loved ones to workplace hazards. Overseeing the panel discussion was David Michaels, Assistant Secretary, OSHA; and Deborah Berkowitz, Chief of Staff, OSHA.

“ADAO urges OSHA to move from helping to control to preventing asbestos exposure, and we urge you to help disseminate other government agencies’ information … to increase awareness and support for best practices and encourage compliance,” Reinstein told the panel. She pointed out that OSHA’s own web site estimates 1.3 million employees in construction and general labor have faced “significant asbestos exposure.”

Reinstein also took the opportunity to ask OSHA’s leaders to support pending legislation that calls for a complete ban of asbestos in the U.S.

“Clearly, one life lost to asbestos disease is tragic, but hundreds of thousands of lives lost is unconscionable,” she said. “OSHA has the opportunity – and the responsibility – to protect Americans from these preventable diseases. We count on you to push this forward, and we would encourage and ask that Secretary (of Labor Hilda L.) Solis support asbestos ban legislation to prevent asbestos-caused diseases to protect workers and their families on behalf of the tens of thousands who have lost their life.”

Transcripts of the meeting are available on the OSHA web site.

A web cast of the meeting, including Panel 1, which features Ms. Reinstein, also is available by visiting OSHA online.

Variety magazine, famous for entertainment reporting, announced this week that famed columnist Army Archerd will be honored posthumously by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADOA) at its Sixth Annual International Asbestos Conference on April 10 in Chicago. Archerd will receive the organization’s inaugural Warren Zevon Keep Me in Your Heart memorial tribute.

The award was established in memory of singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, author of such hits as “Werewolves of London,” who died of mesothelioma in 2003. Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer that is linked to asbestos exposure. It most often affects the lining of the chest and lungs, but may also affect the lining of the abdomen or, more rarely, the heart.

Warren Zevon’s son, Jordan Zevon, is involved with ADAO as its spokesman. Variety quotes him as saying, “My father would be enormously honored to have had the opportunity to pay tribute to Army Archerd.”

Archerd was a columnist for Variety for more than 50 years, penning his “Just for Variety” column until September 2005. Even after he retired the famous column, Archerd worked as a blogger for Variety. He was one of the most popular and well-respected writers in the entertainment industry, and broke many exclusive stories. He died of mesothelioma on Sept. 8, 2009. It is believed he was exposed to asbestos during his service in the Navy during World War II.

Variety quotes his widow, Selma, as saying, “The tragedy of asbestos disease is a story that unfortunately continues to be written for many families. I hope that Army’s legend of making a difference through his work can help give an even louder voice to the efforts to write its end.”

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.

For more information about ADAO or the annual Asbestos Conference, visit ADAO online at www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.

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.

If you are a fan of the social networking site Facebook, I hope that you are linked into the many mesothelioma survivors, supporters, groups and victims that are posting regularly there. If you don’t already have a Facebook page, setting one up is easy. Just go to www.facebook.com and the easy instructions on the home page will walk you through the steps. There are lots of new and improved privacy controls that you can set so that you don’t have to share more information than you want to. The nice thing about Facebook is that you accept and approve “friends” who can see your information.

MyMeso has a Facebook page, and I invite you to join us. You can visit our page here: http://tinyurl.com/ydl5xhd

Our good friend Debbie Brewer in the UK is online on Facebook. Just search for her name and you’ll come to her profile. She recently has started a Facebook fan page for Dr. Thomas Vogl, the groundbreaking researcher who is pioneering chemoembolization as a treatment for mesothelioma. Those familiar with Debbie’s story know that she has had great success with chemoembolization under Dr. Vogl’s care. You can visit his page here:  http://tinyurl.com/yeq5969

There also is a group set up to honor Debbie herself! You can find it by clicking this link: http://tinyurl.com/ychey9g

There is a special event planned for this Friday, Jan. 15, to celebrate Debbie, as well. “Raise a Glass to Debbie” asks everyone to raise a toast in honor of Debbie’s work as an activist for mesothelioma awareness and the fight for a cure. The event will occur between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. and it doesn’t matter where in the world you are – the UK, the U.S., Australia, or any point on the globe – just join in!

There are so many wonderful support groups on Facebook. Two of these that my regular readers know I talk about a lot are the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) (find them here: http://tinyurl.com/ybhmn9j) and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (http://tinyurl.com/ybv2uut).

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.

A video that demonstrates the effects of asbestos in the lungs was recently brought to my attention by two sources. Our friend Debbie Brewer posted it to her Facebook, and then Linda Reinstein from the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization sent me a link, which I’m planning to post on my Twitter feed. This is one of the best dramatizations I’ve seen yet about how asbestos fibers enter the lungs, and how they can cause such conditions as asbestosis, pleural plaques, and mesothelioma.

If you have a Twitter account and would like to share this video, please re-Tweet @ Linda_ADAO Excellent 90 second video on asbestos fiber inhalation produced by ANROAV, AMRC and A-BAN http://tinyurl.com/yhqsdzd

A story on the Cold Truth web site published Oct. 21 reported on a recent meeting of the Manhattan Beach, Calif., City Council, during which it passed a resolution to ask the State of California to find a new “official state rock.” The state’s current stone is serpentine, which usually contains asbestos. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that causes the deadly cancer mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs, stomach and/or heart, as well as other deadly diseases including asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs.

Cold Truth is an original investigative journalism reporting site created by Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Andrew Schneider, who broke the story of the asbestos poisoning of Libby, Montana, among others. According to his report, serpentine was chosen as the state rock of California in 1965, “in order to promote the then-lucrative asbestos mining industry.”

The proposal to ask California’s government to change the official state rock was presented and supported by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which is headquartered in California. The organization has dubbed the effort the “Drop the Rock” Campaign, and urges statewide action while building awareness about cancer-causing asbestos.

According to a news release from ADAO dated Oct. 21, Resolution 6223 is “Urging the State Legislature to repeal the designation of serpentine, the host of asbestos, as the official state rock, in support of world eradication of asbestos for public health as urged by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.”

The resolution from Manhattan Beach represents the first official request to the California legislature to remove the rock. ADAO notes that Chrysotile asbestos, which is often found in serpentine, causes cancers and respiratory diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.

“California has the dubious distinction of being the state with the highest recorded number of asbestos-related deaths and the death toll will continue until the United States Congress passes legislation banning asbestos,” said ADAO Executive Director and Co-Founder Linda Reinstein in the news release. “We have a strategic plan in place and look forward to working with asbestos victims and their families, the John McNamara Foundation, the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute, and political leaders as we move throughout California to repeal serpentine as the state rock.”

The ADAO news release quotes Manhattan Beach Mayor Portia Cohen as saying, “It is unthinkable to have Serpentine as the State Rock of California when more than 7,000 people in our state alone have died from asbestos since 2007.”

Read Resolution 6223.