Wednesday, September 16th, 2009.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) today announced its support for the Surgeon General’s statement acknowledging the dangers of asbestos and thanks the U.S. Senate for continued efforts to encourage a warning. The discovery of the April 1, 2009 acting U.S. Surgeon General statement is greatly appreciated by ADAO, who has always encouraged an official warning about asbestos dangers, as recommended by a U.S. Senate Resolution establishing the first week of April as "National Asbestos Awareness Week." The statement specifies: "I urge every American to become aware of the public health issues of asbestos exposure and the steps they can take to protect their health." It also underscores the need for a ban, stating, "…there is no level of asbestos exposure that is known to be safe and minimizing your exposure will minimize your risk of developing asbestos-related disease."

"The United States Senate’s Resolution urging the Surgeon General to issue a warning, ‘as a public health issue, to warn and educate people that asbestos exposure may be hazardous to their health’, was a landmark step to preventing exposure and deaths," stated Linda Reinstein, ADAO Executive Director. "As a mesothelioma widow, I am pleased to see the Surgeon General’s statement, as asbestos has been a known carcinogen for more than thirty years. ADAO is excited to be able to advance educational efforts with his statement, which strongly reaffirms the need to ban asbestos."

Every reputable United States and international health agency including the Environmental Protection Agency, the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the American Cancer Society agree there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Most recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reconfirmed that all commercial asbestos fibers – including chrysotile, the most commercially used form of asbestos – cause lung cancer and mesothelioma. In addition, the IARC newly confirmed that there is sufficient evidence that asbestos causes ovarian cancer and reconfirmed asbestos causes laryngeal cancer. ADAO continues to serve as the leading voice pushing for a full ban on this lethal mineral.

To read the Surgeon General’s full statement, please click here.

« Mesothelioma News Main Page.

Posted: Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 6:44 pm; filed under Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), Organizations.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.