The United States Senate has unanimously passed Senate Resolution 427 designating the first week of April 2010 as National Asbestos Awareness Week.The resolution urges the Surgeon General to warn and educate Americans regarding the hazards of asbestos exposure.

The hazards of asbestos are severe. The resolution notes that "the World Health Organization, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Surgeon General currently state that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos," and that "asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other health problems." There is no known cure for mesothelioma, a fatal disease.

According to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which praised the passage of the resolution, "more than 10,000 Americans die each year from exposure to asbestos and the number is rising. It is projected that in the next decade asbestos diseases will kill at least 100,000 Americans alone."

For its part, the ADAO will be running an educational campaign during the asbestos awareness week. "Americans deserve and want to know how to prevent asbestos in their homes or in the workplace," said CEO and ADAO co-founder Linda Reinstein.

Preventing exposure continues to pose a challenge as the U.S. and Canada are today the only two industrialized nations without asbestos bans. The United States, according to Senate Resolution 427, "continues to consume almost 2,000 metric tons of the fibrous mineral for use in certain products throughout the Nation," even though "asbestos-related diseases have killed thousands of people in the United States." The result is that "thousands of workers in the United States face significant asbestos exposure."

Each of these workers is unnecessarily risking his or her life. The Kazan Law Firm supports "National Asbestos Awareness Week," and all efforts to educate and raise awareness around this harmful toxic material to one day end exposure to asbestos and the resulting needless deaths.

(Kazan Law Blog, 01/04/2010)