BLOG: Exciting NEWS: U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer Introduces the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2016
For Immediate Release: September 30, 2016
Asbestos Disease Awareness Org. President Urges Congressional Support of Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2016, S. 3427, Introduced September 28 by Senator Barbara Boxer
Boxer’s Bill Would Ban Asbestos within Eighteen Months of Enactment, Ushering in a Significant Victory for Public Health and Environment
WASHINGTON – The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which serves as a global leader in ending asbestos exposure through education, advocacy, and community; issued the following statement from ADAO President and Co-Founder Linda Reinstein in support of the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2016, S. 3427, introduced today by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA):
“The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2016 bill goes beyond the newly reformed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to prohibit the manufacture, processing, use, distribution in commerce, and disposal of asbestos within eighteen months. This critical legislation will prevent asbestos users like the chlor-alkali industry from continuing to expose American workers to this lethal toxin. It will also issue a devastating blow to the asbestos supply chain, which endangers the lives of asbestos miners and their families in developing nations.
“With this bill, Senator Boxer solidifies her position as the strongest Congressional champion asbestos victims could ever ask for. The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now bill embodies the protection Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (LCSA) was intended to provide the American public. LCSA gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the federal regulatory authority to enact a ban on imports and future use of asbestos, but it also allows the Agency as long as twelve years to do so. The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2016 ensures federal regulatory action on asbestos in a fraction of the time it would take under The Lautenberg Act. While we encourage Congress to support Sen. Boxer’s bill, we continue to urge EPA to prioritize asbestos in its first ten high-risk chemicals evaluated under LCSA, ensuring swift regulation of this lethal toxin.
“For forty years, TSCA has failed to protect American families from harmful and deadly toxins, including asbestos. Asbestos claims as many as 15,000 American lives annually. The current list of products containing asbestos is shocking and includes everything from construction materials and automobile parts to children’s toys. Most Americans cannot identify this nearly invisible lethal fiber nor manage the risk in our homes, schools, and workplaces.
“ADAO has been a leading stakeholder in the fight to ban asbestos since our founding in 2004, having helped usher in 11 Senate Asbestos Awareness Resolutions and four Surgeon General Asbestos Awareness Statements. We have also testified at six Congressional hearings on TSCA reform. Today, we urge Congress to fully support the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2016 and urge the EPA to take immediate action on asbestos by ensuring asbestos will be on the 2016 list of high-risk chemical for evolution and regulatory action. It’s time to end the decades of death and ban asbestos.”
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About the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is a global leader in combining education, advocacy, and community initiatives to prevent and end asbestos exposure. ADAO seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos, advocate for an asbestos ban, and protect asbestos victims’ civil rights. For more information, visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org. ADAO, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, does not make legal referrals.
Media Contact:
Sara Tiano
Media Relations
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)
(310) 251-7477
sara@asbestosdiseaseawareness.org