FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 September 22, 2026

PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY EXPERTS URGE CONGRESS TO PASS BIPARTISAN ASBESTOS BAN AT 20TH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING

Speakers Connect Health, Legacy Exposure, Law, and First Responder Risk

WASHINGTON, DC — The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an independent nonprofit dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure through education, advocacy, and community initiatives, will hold its 20th Congressional Staff Briefing, “Impact of Asbestos on Public Health, Environment, and Economy,” in the Capitol Visitor Center, sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR). A bipartisan group of congressional staffers attended the briefing, which took place during Mesothelioma Awareness Month.

Despite being a known carcinogen linked to more than 40,000 preventable deaths in the United States every year, asbestos remains legal and lethal in America. Speakers used the briefing to ask congressional offices to cosponsor the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act, a comprehensive asbestos ban bill. 

“Congress has a duty to protect the public health and safety of Americans and end the decades of unnecessary suffering and death caused by asbestos, a deadly carcinogen,” said Linda Reinstein, President and Cofounder of ADAO. “There is no safe or controlled use of this dangerous substance, and safer alternatives are readily available.”

Senators Merkley and John Curtis (R-UT) introduced the ARBAN Act of 2026 (S. 5235) on August 4, 2026, and the bill has since been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Don Bacon (R-NE) lead the House companion, H.R. 5373. The legislation would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to ban all six asbestos fibers (chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite) along with Libby Amphibole asbestos. It would be a statutory ban that, unlike any regulatory rule, could not be reversed by a future administration.

The briefing will feature the following experts:

  • Brent Kynoch, Managing Director, Environmental Information Association
  • Linda Reinstein, President and Cofounder, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
  • Greg Russell, Legislative Director, Federal Fire Fighters Joint Council, International Association of Fire Fighters
  • Bob Sussman, JD, Counsel for the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

The speakers will discuss:

  • Health effects of asbestos exposure, including mesothelioma, lung, ovarian, and laryngeal cancers, and asbestosis, which can appear decades after exposure. All six fibers are carcinogenic. 
  • Legacy asbestos in homes, schools, workplaces, and public buildings, and the exposure risk when renovation, demolition, fire, or disaster disturbs it
  • Regulatory updates, including the EPA Part 1 Chrysotile Asbestos Final Rule, the final Part 2 Legacy Asbestos Risk Evaluation, and the pending Part 2 risk management rule
  • Risks to firefighters and first responders, and the continuing health consequences 25 years after the September 11 attacks
  • The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act (S. 5235 and H.R. 5373), a comprehensive commercial asbestos ban

According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2026 Mineral Commodity Summaries, the United States imported no raw asbestos fiber from 2023 through 2025. The chlor-alkali industry, the only remaining domestic consumer, used an estimated 50 metric tons from stockpiles in 2025. EPA’s 2024 Part 1 chrysotile asbestos rule is under agency review while the agency has said its plans to propose its Part 2 risk management rule for legacy asbestos by June 3, 2027.

“ADAO supports completing strong EPA action on asbestos and enactment of the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act,” Reinstein said. “Nearly 70 countries have already banned asbestos. Prevention is the thread that connects every part of this problem and that is what we want every member of Congress and their staff to understand.”

Following the briefing, ADAO will host its 21st Annual Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference, “Asbestos: Awareness, Prevention, and the Law,” on September 25 and 26, 2026, at the AC Hotel Arlington National Landing in Arlington, Virginia. Staffers and lawmakers are invited. 

Visit the 20th Staff Briefing page for more details on the briefing and speakers.

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ABOUT ADAO
Founded in 2004, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is the largest independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the U.S. dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure and eliminating asbestos-related diseases through education, advocacy, and community initiatives.