Posted on July 15, 2013

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) has just returned from our fourth Senate staff briefing, entitled “Asbestos: Impact on Public Health, the Environment, and the Economy,” which took place on Thursday, July 11 in Washington, D.C. Over 50 Senate staffers attended from 28 states representing AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, DE, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OR, PA, TN, VT, WA, and WV.

We are delighted to announce that this is the largest attendance that we have ever had at one of our briefings. The interest in asbestos by our lawmakers is in part a reaction to phone calls from so many of you. Our ADAO community made hundreds of calls to encourage their representatives to attend, and they heard you! Thank you very much for getting the word out. You confirmed once again that together, we can make a difference.

Thank you also to our presenters, all renowned in their fields and willing to volunteer time from their busy schedules. We were honored to include presentations from the following panel of experts:

  • Dr. Richard Lemen, Former Assistant Surgeon General, United States (ret). ADAO Science Advisory Board Co-Chair — Epidemiology: Understanding How Asbestos Causes Diseases (Note: Dr. Lemen’s slides were presented by Reinstein)
  • Dr. Raja Flores, Chief of Division of Thoracic Surgery, Mount Sinai Medical Center – Treating Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos-Caused Diseases
  • Tom Laubenthal, Technical Chief, The Environmental Institute – EPA (TSCA) and OSHA Regulatory Framework and Concerns
  • Dr. Barry Castleman, Environmental Consultant — Asbestos in Chlor-Alkali Industry
  • Ellen Patton, Mesothelioma Patient – A Patient’s Mesothelioma Journey
  • Linda Reinstein, President and Co-Founder, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization – Asbestos Exposure throughout the U.S.: Imports, Natural Disasters, and the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (S. 1009)

ADAO continued our longtime tradition of honoring Mesothelioma Warriors that we have lost by dedicating our briefing to JanelleDebbie, and their families.

Regretfully, the briefing was open only to Senate staffers, so we have shared all the PowerPoints here on SlideShare. Other briefing materials can be viewed on our 2013 U.S. Senate Staff Briefing Resources page.

There is still more to be done to follow up with Congress:

  • Have you Shared Your Story? If not, please do so today on our website. Hearing the personal stories of Meso Warriors from all over the world touched everyone at the briefing.
  • Have you signed our petition for a world free from asbestos? Click here to do so today.

In unity,

Linda

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