The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is asking the public to help give a voice to efforts to ensure a safe and healthy workplace. Simply go online to vote that an article titled “Ensure all jobs are healthy jobs” by Michael Kalmus Eliasz should be presented to the upcoming United Nations Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, scheduled to take place June 20-22 in Rio de Janeiro.

The healthy jobs initiative fits in with ADAO’s mission to ensure safe workplaces by calling for a complete ban on asbestos. Asbestos was used for decades in industry as a fireproofing material. Tiny asbestos fibers can be inhaled and ingested, resulting in the development of asbestos diseases including mesothelioma, which is a deadly cancer affecting the lining of the lungs, abdomen and, more rarely, the heart. There is no known cure for mesothelioma.

If the article about healthy jobs receives the most votes online, it will be presented to heads of state at the U.N. conference. The article, prepared by the International Association of Medical Students, quotes statistics from the International Labor Organization (ILO) that cite more than 2.34 million deaths from work-related diseases in 2008. It calls for the “integration of health assessments into strategies for job creation … in particular identifying health risks among both formal and informal workers across the supply chain and acting to mitigate these risks.”

You can read more of the paper, and find instructions to register and vote by visiting the ADAO online. The deadline for voting is JUNE 3, so please support this effort by voting today!
Tags: ADAO, asbestos, asbestos disease, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, mesothelioma, United Nations, workplace safety
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 31st, 2012 at 10:05 am and is filed under Events, Organizations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Military service is crucial to ensure the success of the United States. Fortunately, citizens of the United States volunteer willfully and a draft has not been necessary since the Vietnam War. While the nation strives to offer those who serve proper compensation, there are a number of risks involved with service. While some are clear to those who sign up, others are relatively unknown.
The most obvious risk for service members relates to combat. Ultimately, militaries exist to protect nations and resources and the threat of combat looms large even over those in the world's safest regions. Fortunately, military medical care has improved dramatically and many troops are able to survive incidents that would have claimed their lives in the past.

Mental health issues are also common. Too often, the media and public do not fully consider the effects that combat has on the mind. Unfortunately, troops often fail to fully accept the severity of their mental health problems, and too many resort to substance abuse and dangerous behavior. The good news is that mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, are being taken more seriously and many troops are receiving the care that they need to resume healthy lives after their service has ended. Medical science is finding new, better techniques for dealing with these traditionally ignored, yet serious health threats.

The risk of disease also threatens the health and safety of our troops. The realities of military life and warfare often dictate that soldiers live in close proximity to each other. These conditions allow diseases to spread easily from troop to troop. The Spanish Influenza outbreak that claimed between 50 and 130 million lives is partially blamed on World War I, which had many soldiers living in close quarters. Most of these diseases are self-limiting or treatable, but the risk of infection looms over the heads of soldiers.

Another risk is posed by environmental factors. In some cases, these factors have lead to diseases. Because of the usefulness of asbestos, it has been used in military applications for thousands of years; ancient Greeks noted its insulation and ability to limit the spread of fire. Unfortunately, it has also been conclusively linked to mesothelioma, a dangerous form of cancer. For decades after the link between asbestos and mesothelioma was made clear, the military continued to use asbestos, and many soldiers, especially those from the Vietnam Era, are now battling mesothelioma.

Military service comes with risk, and many soldiers pay the ultimate price on the battlefield. Frequently, however, soldiers are also paying a heavy cost decades after their service has ended.

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