The asbestos ban instituted in Sweden more than 30 years ago had still not had any measurable impact on the incidence ofmalignant mesothelioma in the country as of 2009.

Designing a Mesothelioma Research Study

Mesothelioma Incidence in Sweden

The Asbestos Ban and Mesothelioma Cases

 Thinking of getting wrist deep in a home DIY project you saw on Pinterest? Still using an ancient appliance from your first apartment because it seems to be just as good as new? While many of us may have an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude, some of your best money saving ideas can pose a serious health risk. Within your home and other unexpected places like schools and appliances, asbestos, a carcinogen known to cause asbestosis and mesothelioma, can linger.

Asbestos was once used in more than 3,000 consumer products. As a well-known fire resistant and durable product, asbestos use was heavily regulated in the late 1970s after it was discovered to cause cancer. However, many buildings and products may still contain asbestos; here are 5 shocking places where asbestos can be found in your home:

If you’re using a crock pot handed down to you from who-knows-where, you may want to consider replacing it with a new model. Prior to regulations, crock pots used in the lining between the outer and inner pot to retain heat, as well as in the power cord to prevent electrical fires. Chrysotile, or white asbestos, was the most common of the six types of asbestos used in appliances. While exposure to chrysotile asbestos is less likely to cause cancer, it is still a toxic substance.

Around the late 1970s when asbestos was being regulated, a consumer report showed that many hair dryers manufactured domestically were emitting asbestos fibers. While at the time U.S. manufacturers agreed to discontinue the use of asbestos in their products, the manufacturing of almost all hair dryers has been outsourced to foreign manufacturers where the environmental regulations on asbestos are few or non-existent.

Another common household appliance that was found to contain asbestos is the popcorn popper. The devices use an electrical element that heats the air to pop the popcorn and, for some manufacturers, asbestos was used in the electrical element. Much like crock pots, asbestos may have also been used in the power cords as a heat insulator. Similar to hair dryers, popcorn poppers manufactured overseas could potentially still contain traces of asbestos in their product.

Baby powder contains talc. Talc is a mineral that is mined around the U.S. and was often found to have the presence of tremolite asbestos within it. While many domestic manufacturers have taken safety measures to prevent levels of tremolite in their mined talc to later be used for cosmetic products, foreign manufacturers tend to have less environmental regulations on asbestos use and allow contaminated products to enter the country.

When it comes to taking on a new DIY project at home, consider the age of your home if you’re pulling down sheetrock, lifting flooring, or removing a popcorn ceiling texture. Many older building materials contained asbestos for its durability. With asbestos fibers put into these products, the materials would last much longer. However, today with the link to mesothelioma cancer, a homeowner should consult the advice of a professional contractor or asbestos abatement company before potentially exposing oneself to this dangerous carcinogen during a renovation project.

There are many other places throughout your home where asbestos can be found hiding. Be sure to consider the year of your home or appliance that you’re inspecting for asbestos-containing parts, as well as where the materials were manufactured. Limiting your exposure risk to asbestos in your home can help prevent the chances of you or a loved one developing an asbestos-related disease later on in life.

Asbestos, even in small amounts, can cause a wide variety of diseases including multiple forms of cancer and even mesothelioma.  That’s why certain parties are so concerned about a demolition/renovation project at a Wapato High School in Washington.

A local news station recently reported that the school currently undergoing renovation was discovered to contain asbestos materials.  The revelation will effectively slow the project down and extend it well into the school year, something school board officials had hoped to avoid.  Now, with students and demolition debris on-site together, some are worried that the community’s children are being put at too high a risk.

The project at Wapato High School was scheduled to wrap up long before students came back to class.  That would have given crews plenty of time to clean up debris and put the finishing touches on the new construction.  However, asbestos remediation can be a time consuming process.  Because asbestos is so dangerous, federal regulations dictate exactly how it must be handled.  Licensed contractors must be called in to remove asbestos in any public or commercial building.  These materials must be delicately handled, packaged securely, and delivered to approved disposal facilities in order to mitigate any danger from the toxic minerals within.

Dan Murray, Wapato Schools Assistant Superintendent, said that student and faculty safety was top priority and he and others were working hard to ensure that “the student safety issues, staff safety issues, are all up to city codes,” and that “…we’re really struggling …” with traffic flow in order to keep kids and faculty away from potentially hazardous work site conditions.

Scrupulous contractors can easily keep living and work areas separated from construction zones containing asbestos.  Double airlock systems, secure transportation containers, ventilation devices and sealed vacuums can all be used – depending on the amount and type of asbestos materials – in order to keep students safe.  You can bet that officials will be watching this remediation project closely to ensure that nothing slips past their scrutiny.

The Wapato case illustrates the hidden danger that exists in schools today all across the country.  These older buildings were constructed when asbestos was a common additive to hundreds of individual construction materials.  Unfortunately, school districts simply don’t have the money or the resources to remove potentially hazardous materials.  They are often forced to manage asbestos in-place and do what they can to keep it from contaminating the school’s air supply.

After several decades of criticism from the international community, the Canadian government is finally stopping its unconscionable defense of the asbestos mining industry. Long an exporter of asbestos, the mineral responsible for diseases like asbestosis and mesothelioma, Canada is undergoing a change of heart as the reins of government are shifted to the Parti Québécois, led by Canada’s first female Premier, Pauline Marois.

Marois Behind New Direction on Asbestos

During her campaign, Premier Marois promised to revoke a government loan that would have allowed the Jeffrey asbestos mine in Asbestos, Quebec to restart activities. Instead of the government loan going towards dangerous asbestos mining, the government will now give communities formerly dependent on asbestos mining up to $50 million to encourage the development of other, safer industries. Quebec was the last province in Canada still exporting asbestos to other countries.

Canada’s Decision Potentially Reduces International Asbestos Use

Families of victims of mesothelioma and other anti-asbestos activists are pleased with Quebec’s announcement. Not only does the decision mean that fewer Canadian workers and their families will be exposed to asbestos, but workers internationally will also benefit from less asbestos exposure. This is because Canada has frequently blocked attempts to add chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention, a U.N. treaty that tracks hazardous substances. With its new posture on asbestos mining, it’s unlikely that Canada will continue to try to prevent the addition of the known dangerous substance asbestos to the list.

However, while Canada is publicly changing their stance on asbestos, there are still other countries in the world that allow asbestos export and its use in manufacturing, ignoring the proven fact that asbestos is hazardous to human health and the only cause of mesothelioma, a devastating and terminal disease. The law offices of Clapper, Patti, Schweizer, and Mason fight against the irresponsible use of asbestos by representing victims of asbestos exposure and their families. To learn more about what we do and how we may be able to help you, call us toll free at 1-800-440-4262.

Illicit “fake” cigarette sales cost the UK billions of dollars each year.  They’re cheap, they look like the real thing, but they’re manufactured by criminals (usually with ties to organized crime) and contain ingredients that will make you cringe – that according to an investigative report published on September 9th in the UK’s Mail Online.

As part of a concentrated effort to not only assess the infiltration of Black Market cigarettes but to understand the underground industry in order to shut it down, investigators from top tobacco companies rummaged through trash bins across the country looking for contraband packs, cartons, and butts.

What they found was shocking.  Nearly 1/3 of all the cigarettes packs found were Black Market- unregulated packs brought overseas by European smugglers.  But that wasn’t the most disgusting part.

When the remnants of these cigarettes were tested, it wasn’t just the usual nicotine and tar uncovered.  Indeed, these illicit cigarettes were found to contain a host of unsafe, unhealthy, and just plain dangerous ingredients including:  human excrement, asbestos, mold and dead insects.  One bust in Derbyshire uncovered a load of fake smokes made from crushed flies.

The study was the second such in a year and showed a shocking increase of counterfeit cigarettes.  The first study found just over 14% of packets uncovered to be illegal.  This 200% increase has health officials worried.  It is estimated that the illicit smuggling of cigarettes cost the industry over three and a half billion pounds each year.  That translates into $5.6 billion US dollars.  But the health costs may be more staggering than that.

While the discovery of fecal matter and insects is disturbing, the revelation that asbestos is a common additive in these unregulated cancer sticks is alarming.  The United States cigarette industry still bears the scars from when it used asbestos in cigarette filters.  Companies are still paying out millions of dollars to asbestos victims suffering from mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and more.  With a new wave of asbestos tainted cigarettes crossing the seas, health officials wonder just how long it will take them to start seeing the after effects.

Asbestos, even in small concentrations, can prove deadly.  Federal regulatory bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and OSHA place strict limits on allowable levels of asbestos.  Indeed, OSHA limits ”acceptable” levels of airborne asbestos to just 1 tenth of one fiber per liter of air.

Now imagine asbestos being directly inhaled into the lungs.  The danger level increases by several orders of magnitude.

Many of these fake cigarettes come via Europe from China and are visibly unidentifiable as fake.  With China quickly becoming one of the United States’ most active trade partners, people are speculating about just how much of the trade is illicit smokes.  There’s no doubt about it, these counterfeit cigarettes are already within our borders.  In fact, one study found that 99% of the fake cigarettes within the US come directly from China.

The cost of manufacturing a fake cigarette in China is one tenth of what it takes to make the real thing here in the United States.  With the potential for such huge profits the prevalence of these asbestos-tainted cigarettes will only rise.

Recently opinion journalist, Nicholas D. Kristof, wrote an op-ed column for The New York Times shining a light on how big industry works hard to keep the truth about carcinogens from being known to the general public.  Way back in the 1930’s they did it in regards to the dangers of asbestos, denying and shedding doubt that asbestos causes mesothelioma, a fatal form of aggressive cancer that is now killing hundreds of thousands of people every year.

Not much has changed in terms of the tactics.  The new carcinogens causing the chemical industry to use their delay and derail tactics are formaldehyde and Styrene.  The industry is now trying to suppress  scientific consensus that clearly shows that formaldehyde, a chemical found in many homes unbeknownst to most occupants, causes cancer and perhaps leukemia.

They are using big money and lobbying techniques to delay publication of the dangers of both formaldehyde and Syrene in the Report on Carcinogens, “a 500-page consensus document published every two years by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).”  As Kristof says, “If that sounds like shooting the messenger, well, it is.”

Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical that is used in many building materials and household products. The NIH states:

As for Styrene, a synthetic chemical used in many plastics, rubber and resins, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) states:

“About 90,000 workers, including those who make boats, tubs, and showers, are potentially exposed to styrene. Health effects from exposure to styrene may involve the central nervous system and include complaints of headache, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, drowsiness, malaise, difficulty in concentrating, and a feeling of intoxication.”

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence, the chemical industry is trying to cast doubt on the fact that both of these chemicals can cause serious illness – just like industry executives did when it became known that asbestos was killing workers and their families.

We must hope that something has been learned by those both inside and outside the industry that prevents hiding information from the public just for big business profit when it could save lives.

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.

Today was busy with meetings at Capitol Hill, asking legislators to support a total ban of asbestos in the United States, funding for mesothelioma research, and that they designate September 26 as Mesothelioma Awareness Day.

The day began with a briefing from Chris Hahn, the executive director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF), with latest numbers about federal funding for meso research (WAY below every other cancer) and information about goals for new legislation. A bill to ban asbestos and fund meso research has been before the Senate for the past SEVEN YEARS. In 2008, S774, more commonly known as the Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act, passed the Senate, and in 2008 its companion, HR3339/6903, made it to committee in the House of Representatives, but never made it to the floor. It died in committee when the session ended and we now have to start all over.

Beginning at 11 a.m., I met with aides from Congressman Bobby Bright‘s office, as well as the offices of Senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions. I was disappointed that I was unable to meet with any of the legislators personally, but two of the aides were particularly enthusiastic about our efforts, and the third was amenable, so I have high hopes. Now I will simply begin to pester people until we finally see some legislation! I left copies of our petition in support of these efforts with each of the Congressional offices, so I hope they will listen to our voices!

Tomorrow the sixth annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma will address the latest topics in mesothelioma research and treatment. 170 people attended the Advocacy Day today, and 230 people will attend the conference tomorrow and Saturday, the largest number yet.

Chris Hahn told us, “The way that we’re going to cure this disease is through community. On Advocacy Day, each person’s voice makes a real difference, and each of you speak for hundreds who could not be here.”

I hope our legislature is listening.

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.

It was Cheryl Cotton’s third time attending the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation’s annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma when I met her this past June. We were both seated in the hotel lobby, waiting for a bus to take us to Capitol Hill, where we would ask our legislators to support a complete ban of asbestos and for funding for mesothelioma research.

I think it was Cheryl who introduced herself first, and I was delighted to hear she was from my home state, Alabama, about two and a half hours north of Montgomery, in Anniston. When I told her I was from Montgomery, she was ecstatic to finally find someone with a meso connection in her home state.

Cheryl lost her husband, Virgil, to mesothelioma on May 31, 2005, just two days after their 40th wedding anniversary. She began attending the Meso Foundation conference almost immediately, urgently needing to connect with others who might understand what she was going through, and to make sense of a disease that took her best friend and love of her life before either of them fully realized what was happening.

Virgil first began to notice something was wrong in late March 2004, when he had a severe pain in his side. His hobby was restoring vintage automobiles, and he had been working on a friend’s car, so he thought he had possibly just bruised a muscle while working. But shortly after that he developed a terrible cough.

“It was a whole-body cough,” Cheryl recalls. “Like from head to toe.”

Virgil went to see his doctor, who thought the cough might be related to a drug he was taking following a heart catheterization, which he’d had earlier that year.

“The doctor said it would take 60 days or so to get the drug out of his system, so basically for two months we did nothing,” Cheryl says. “The pain in his side persisted, and the cough got worse. Right up until this time, after his heart problems, he had been dedicated to cardiovascular exercise and eating right. He was probably in the best shape he’d been in for years. He would actually get onto to me about exercising more and eating right,” she recalls with a laugh before turning sober again. “So this was just odd. He kept feeling sicker and sicker.”

He went back to the doctor, thinking maybe there was something wrong with his heart. Tests showed his heart was fine, and doctors sent him home and told him to just continue to exercise and eat right.

But Virgil began having trouble breathing. It was September by now. He visited the doctor again, and was referred to a pulmonary specialist for a thoracentesis. They found fluid in his lungs, but tests came back negative for cancer or any type of infection. But the fluid came back almost immediately.

Cheryl was getting really worried.

“He was used to being active, but now he could hardly get around. He had no energy,” she remembers. “We had requested referrals to see some doctors in Birmingham, because he was dying in front of me. I knew there was something more going on, and I couldn’t understand why nobody could tell us. We had two more thoracenteses and still no diagnosis. The local doctors said they didn’t know what was wrong with him.”

At this point, Cheryl decided to call Birmingham, and talked to a nurse at UAB Medical Center. She got a referral for a pulmonary specialist, and made an appointment for Virgil the following week. But when they got to see the doctor, he said Virgil actually should see a thoracic surgeon, and gave them another referral. They gathered all Virgil’s test results and visited the thoracic surgeon on December 14. An initial theory was that Virgil might have a collapsed lung and scar tissue.

“Virgil had really gone downhill,” Cheryl said. “He was aging. Things had fallen apart in nine months, since the first symptoms.”

Doctors decided to do a thoractomy, but because it was Christmastime, they decided to wait until January, telling Virgil and Cheryl to go home and enjoy the holidays with their family. He finally had the surgery Jan. 4, and they first heard the word mesothelioma. But the diagnosis still wasn’t definite until about 10 days later.

“At that point it was stage 2+ or 3-. It was already advanced. We were referred to a doctor for chemotherapy, but still nobody was really telling us much about what this diagnosis meant. We had no idea.”

Virgil underwent a series of chemotherapy treatments, and then on April 20 began receiving radiation at a cancer center in Birmingham.

“By then, his breathing had deteriorated and they’d put him on oxygen,” Cheryl said. “He’d really not been able to lie flat since September. He had to prop up in a recliner or on a pallet on the floor.”

On May 19, a Thursday morning, Virgil woke Cheryl and told her something was wrong and that he felt he needed to go to the hospital. They went to UAB. On May 21, the doctor came in and told them Virgil was not improving, and that he didn’t have long to live. She estimated two and half to three months, and advised them to get their affairs in order.

“This was the first time anyone really talked to us about dying. Everyone was telling us he had time, that there was all this time.”

They called in Hospice care, and their daughter, Pam, came to visit, bringing their grandson and making a video of Virgil and the boy. On May 30, Virgil began doing worse, and passed away the next day. This was just nine days after they’d first been told that Virgil’s condition was terminal, and about 15 months since his first symptoms.

Cheryl was in shock. “He was 60 years old and had been in prime health,” she says. “When he died, he looked like he was 90. I didn’t even realize how bad he looked because I guess I saw him every day. Months later, I watched the video Pam had made just before he died, and then I really saw it.”

Virgil’s illness had been such a whirlwind; Cheryl wasn’t quite sure what to do after his death. She still couldn’t quite believe it had even happened. She was angry, that Virgil went so long with no diagnosis and no treatment. She felt guilty, like she ought to have somehow known more, or done more. And she felt alone.

Some time after Virgil was diagnosed with mesothelioma, Cheryl found the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of mesothelioma through outreach, education and funding research efforts to find a cure. She also connected with Sue Vento, the widow of Sen. Bruce Vento of Minnesota, after whom the pending “Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma” legislation before the U.S. Congress was named.

“She emailed me and I think called me, too,” Cheryl says. “She sent me a book on meso as well. She was the calm in the middle of my storm, and has kept in touch with me during this time via emails.”

Following Virgil’s death, Cheryl decided to attend the Meso Foundation’s annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, and packed her bags for the trip to Washington, D.C. Many of her friends couldn’t understand it, but she says it was something she had to do.

“I somehow found MARF and the main reason I went to the conference that first year was to have someone to share this pain, and try to come to some conclusions,” she said. “You feel like you didn’t do something you should have. We had never heard of the word until they told us the diagnosis.

“I really felt like … when you lose your husband, who had been my friend, before he was my sweetheart – we’d known each other since we were 12. I felt if there was some way I could reach out to someone else it would help me as much as maybe I could help them. I felt there was that need in my heart, to find out as much as I could about the disease,” Cheryl says. “It was wonderful to know that people were surviving. But it makes me angry that Virgil didn’t have a chance.”

She had a chance to meet her “rock,” Sue Vento, at that first conference as well. Since that time, Cheryl has attended the Symposium for three years in a row, where she is active, joining others in visiting Capitol Hill to ask Congress to ban asbestos, and to fund mesothelioma research. She is also active in her community, talking to people about the dangers of asbestos exposure and about mesothelioma. She takes brochures about mesothelioma to doctors’ offices, hoping to increase knowledge among the medical community, hoping that someone else may be diagnosed early enough for treatment.

“Now I have contact with more people who are battling mesothelioma, and I learn that most people also have never heard of it. At the time, you just have to hang in there, and you can fall apart later. So I try to connect and just try to help someone, to let them know that someone is there who understands what they are going through. And it helps me too,” she says.

“I share my story every chance I get. I wear an awareness pin. People need to know asbestos is out there and it’s killing people.”

Outreach is hard. Every time she shares Virgil’s story, the pain is fresh again. But Cheryl is determined, and she’s willing.

“Mesothelioma patients and their families are victims,” Cheryl says. “They are victims of asbestos. And all of this COULD and SHOULD have been avoided!”

View the original article here

Our mesothelioma lawyers know that attorneys who defend the companies responsible for asbestos exposure are constantly trying tactics to delay and otherwise impede justice in these cases.

One such move attempted recently has been successfully thwarted by senate judiciary in Louisiana. Granted, this is a small victory in that it doesn't yet apply to all 50 states, but it may be looked upon by judges in other mesothelioma cases seeking some precedent.

Here's what happened:

Lobbyists for companies who for years had manufactured products with asbestos, a toxic compound known to cause a rare and deadly cancer called mesothelioma, had pushed for passage of House Bill 477.

This bill would have forced mesothelioma patients who filed lawsuits against the companies that caused their illnesses to disclose all potential defendants during the discovery process. Similar legislative measures are currently being debated in both Oklahoma and Ohio.

At issue here is the relationship among the more than 60 asbestos bankruptcy trusts that have been established as a result of extensive asbestos litigation. These trusts were set up by companies that could not afford to pay the large number of people they had caused to become sick. So through Chapter 11 reorganizations, companies were allowed to continue running if they established trusts, which they would continue to pay into and which mesothelioma patients could claim compensation, without having to endure a trial.

For some patients, there are multiple companies that are deemed responsible for their illness, and they receive multiple payments.

The legislature was aiming to force mesothelioma patients to disclose all defendants for each claim, thereby not only decreasing the person's chance of getting the full compensation he or she deserves (if there are multiple defendants, each one would argue a lesser percentage of fault), but also creating a lengthier process - something extremely detrimental to someone who may not have long to live.

HB477, which had passed unanimously in the Louisiana House, was struck down in the Senate by a 4-2 vote.

Supporters had said it would cut down on instances of fraud or abuse.

The real abuse, however, happened when these companies, out of extreme greed and disregard for the well-being of their workers and consumers, continued to manufacture products they knew were dangerous, in spite of continuous warnings from health organizations.

What's more, the U.S. Government Accountability Office took pains last year to investigate the trust system amid allegations of fraud - and found none.

It's believed there are roughly 90 companies in the U.S. that have filed for bankruptcy as a result of lawsuits stemming from asbestos exposure.

As of right now, there are approximately $37 billion in asbestos trusts. The biggest of those was formed by Halliburton, and is currently worth about $4 billion.

The Louisiana measure is the first of many. Lawmakers there say they intend to introduce another similar measure next year, while several other states are contemplating doing the same.

If you have a Twitter or Facebook account, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization is calling on you to help raise awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and to call for Congressional ban of asbestos in the United States.

Here is a sample Facebook and Twitter message the ADAO is asking you to post. Ask your friends to re-Tweet, too!

Asbestos is a carcinogen. Ban asbestos now. Send your Congressional Representatives a letter from www.banasbestos.us. Please RT!

Mesothelioma and other asbestos-releated diseases are preventable! Raise awareness and help eliminate this deadly substance in the U.S.!

“For every life lost to asbestos, a shattered family is left behind.” This is the motto and the message of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) co-founder Linda Reinstein. Linda, who now serves as ADAO’s executive director, became an activist on behalf of the victims of asbestos disease in 2003, when her husband Alan was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He passed away in May 2006.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, which Linda established in 2004 along with co-founder Doug Larkin,  is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving as the voice for all asbestos victims. Its mission includes education, outreach, networking for asbestos victims, and especially working to accomplish a complete ban of asbestos in the United States. ADAO has gotten a U.S. Senate resolution to officially declare April 1 as Asbestos Awareness Day, and hosts an annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference to increase awareness and help prevent future exposure.

This year, the Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson supported National Asbestos Awareness Week, the first week of April, and issued a statement about the deadly health hazard posed by asbestos.

Since co-founding ADAO, Linda has globally united countless individuals and families who have been affected by asbestos related diseases, including mesothelioma and asbestosis. She also has worked to produce awareness materials including a slide show called “Asbestos Kills,” and other educational materials including an internationally distributed online book, “Reflections,” which features articles from renowned global experts.

Last week, the ADAO launched a new resource center page on its web site, and issued a call to action for those of us in the mesothelioma community to push for a complete ban on asbestos in the United States by contacting our Congressional representatives.

There is an easy way to do it – just visit www.banasbestos.us and click on the link that says “Write Your Congressman,” which is on the home page. This will take you to a form you can fill out, and it will automatically send the message to your Congressional delegates. Remember, YOU shoud be THEIR voice on Capitol Hill!

“I need them to feel our pain,” Reinstein said. “Asbestos victims – patients, families, caregivers -  are turning their anger to action, across the nation, working for the difference we can make, together.”

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), has issued a special bulletin urging the mesothelioma community and U.S. citizens in general to step up the fight to ban asbestos in the United States. They have added a page on their web site, www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org, that provides specific information about the health hazards of asbestos, along with helpful links to educational resources, and sample Facebook and Twitter messages they are asking everyone to post who uses those social media sites.

ADAO has dedictated its National Asbestos Awareness Resource to the memory of June Breit, who is well known in the mesothelioma community, and who recently lost her battle with the disease, as well as to the thousands of other victims “silenced by asbestos.”

According to the information on the resource page, “Asbestos can cause cancer and irreversible lung damage. Asbestos has no warning properties — you can’t see it smell it or taste it. Avoid asbestos exposure, and consult the CPSC, EPA, NIOSH, ILO and WHO guidelines, regulations and laws.”

The resource page also includes information from a statement issued by Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Long in April, in commemoration of Asbestos Awareness Day, which outlines the health hazards of asbestos and which urges Americans to become more aware of these dangers and to protect themselves from asbestos exposure.

The ADAO is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to serve as the united voice for all asbestos victims, to unite asbestos victims and educate the public and medical community about asbestos-related disease, to support research that leads to early detection, prevention and a cure; to ensure equitable compensation for victims and their families, and to ban the use of asbestos.

For more information and to participate in this awareness outreach effort, please visit the National Asbestos Awareness Resource page today, and make use of the many tools available there!