Power to the People: Anti-Asbestos Advocates Force Change with Storytelling and Solidarity - ADAO

Posted on January 19, 2017

For 13 years, the ADAO community has been fighting an uphill battle in pursuit of an asbestos ban, and at times, it feels like we’re just spinning our wheels fighting a fight we can’t win. With the oftentimes plodding pace of policy change, it’s easy for the incremental victories to get lost among the slog. But I’m here to tell you that significant victories have been rolling in — perhaps in the past year more than ever — and YOU are the ones earning these historic public health victories.

For most people, including most of our elected legislators, asbestos-caused diseases are entirely abstract and pretty opaque. Through sharing our personal stories, we’ve been able to shine a personal light on the issue, helping to reveal this hidden issue for lawmakers, regulators, and the public.

Strategically using our stories has delivered us 13 years of victories. We’ve garnered 12 Senate Asbestos Awareness Week Resolutions, and we’ve gotten 5 Surgeon General statements warning against asbestos. We’ve successfully fought down FACT and FAIR acts, year after year, protecting asbestos victims’ civil rights in court. Our stories even reached all the way to the ears of President Barack Obama, who in June became the first sitting U.S. president to publicly acknowledge asbestos as a carcinogen.

More than just bringing the issue to light, the personal nature of our story-sharing strategy has earned us a reputation of authenticity, and has allowed us to build real connections and relationships that help further progress our cause. Because of that, we’ve got a backing of Congressional champions in our corner, and we truly have been able to work well with everyone in Washington. At the end of the day — asbestos-caused diseases can happen to anyone, and once people are able to see that, party lines and politics start to matter much less.

The proof of this is evidenced in the historic bipartisan legislation passed last summer, which paves the way for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finally ban asbestos once and for all. The Lautenberg Act reforms to the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) took nearly a decade of negotiations, but our diligence delivered us a sound law that has the potential to deliver true protection.

On the heels of this monumental victory in the States, Canada — a longtime major producer and user of asbestos — announced a federal ban to take effect in 2018. With Canada joining 55 other countries to ban the known human carcinogen, the US lags behind as the only Western nation to continue consuming asbestos. The timing couldn’t be better, putting asbestos regulation into international headlines and conversation just as the EPA is poised to begin evaluating asbestos for potential regulation.

The strength in our relationships and personal stories are tried and true, and now that we have the legal framework and momentum for a ban, it’s time to now use our stories and these relationships we’ve built and nurtured to organize, strategize, and take action to see TSCA implementation through to an eventual ban on asbestos.

ADAO is committed to remaining a stakeholder on behalf of the anti-asbestos community; what we need from you is to keep using your voices. Whether you’re a patient, family member, worker, advocate, or ally, your voice is crucial to ensuring our message is heard loud and clear. In the David vs. Goliath battle we’re fighting, our stories, socially shared are our best ammunition against the propaganda and junk science peddled by the other side. They may have money and influence on their side, but we have the truth.

Patients, Families, and Loved Ones: If you haven’t shared your story yet, please consider doing so when it feels right for you. Nothing has been more effective in influencing lawmakers than putting faces and families to the asbestos issue. You can share your story with ADAO here.
Workers: TSCA holds special priority for populations more vulnerable to chemical exposure, workers among them. As such, we’re working specifically to build a trove of stories from workers to share during the implementation process in an effort to remind the EPA of their duty to ensure occupational exposure is addressed. You can find simple instructions on how to get involved in this worker-centric campaign here.
Advocates & Allies: You have the power to increase the voice of asbestos victims exponentially through sharing their stories yourselves. You can always retweet or share others’ posts on Facebook, but you can also draw from our collection of nearly 200 stories. Sharing educational content and voicing your opinion to your elected representatives when the time calls are other invaluable ways to help the cause.

Together, through our stories and relationships, we’ve been making the world a safer place for 13 years. Trust me when I say we’re not stopping now.

In solidarity,

Linda
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