FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2026

ON MESOTHELIOMA AWARENESS DAY, ASBE STOS DISEASE AWARENESS ORGANIZATION URGES CONGRESS: BAN ASBESTOS, END PREVENTABLE DEATHS

WASHINGTON, D.C. — To mark Mesothelioma Awareness Day, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an independent nonprofit dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure and disease through education, advocacy, and community initiatives, called on Congress to swiftly pass the bipartisan Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act of 2026 and shared ten facts every American should know about mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma Awareness Day is Friday, September 26. Each year in the United States, more than 40,000 Americans die from preventable asbestos-caused cancers like mesothelioma. 

“Every 13 minutes, we lose someone in the United States to an asbestos-caused disease such as mesothelioma. These deaths are preventable and prevention remains the only cure. The surest way to end this crisis once and for all is for Congress to pass the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act and start immediately protecting the health of all Americans,” said Linda Reinstein, President and Co-Founder of ADAO and widow of the bill’s namesake.

The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act of 2026 (S. 5235 and H.R. 5373) would:

  • Prohibit the manufacture, processing, use, and distribution in commerce of all forms of commercial asbestos and asbestos-containing products, with defined transition periods.
  • Cover all six historically regulated asbestos fibers, along with winchite and richterite, all of which are carcinogenic.
  • Establish enforceable federal transition requirements for the chlor-alkali and sheet-gasket industries.
  • Close gaps left by EPA’s 2024 chrysotile asbestos rule and establish durable protections not subject to shifting administrative or judicial challenges.

Nearly 70 nations have already banned asbestos. The United States remains one of the few industrialized nations that has not. Until Congress bans asbestos once and for all, ADAO is urging all Americans to educate themselves about mesothelioma and how to prevent asbestos exposure. 

“We were reminded this month, on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, just how deadly and dangerous toxic exposure to asbestos can be as the City of New York released thousands of pages of records about the air quality following the attack on our nation,” said Linda Reinstein. “Decades later, we’ve lost more New Yorkers to illness caused by toxic debris exposure than we lost on the day of the attacks, and still more New Yorkers are realizing that their own health problems may be the result of their exposures after the attacks when they believed they were safe to return to their homes, schools and workplaces. This is another terrible reason why asbestos education and prevention needs to be common knowledge for all of us,” said Reinstein. 

TEN FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MESOTHELIOMA

In recognition of Mesothelioma Awareness Day, ADAO is sharing the following facts about mesothelioma:

  1. Nearly 3,000 Americans die from mesothelioma each year, about 8% of all asbestos-related deaths in the nation.
  2. Mesothelioma is part of a larger problem: more than 40,000 Americans die every year from preventable asbestos-caused diseases.
  3. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the thin membranes lining the body’s cavities. It most often develops in the lining of the lungs (the pleura), but can also occur in the abdominal lining (peritoneum), the tissue surrounding the heart (pericardium), and the tissue around the testicles (tunica vaginalis).
  4. Almost all mesothelioma cases are caused by asbestos exposure; there is no other significant known cause.
  5. Disturbing asbestos-containing materials releases microscopic fibers that endanger workers, families, and communities and can cause illness. Legacy asbestos remains hidden in homes come to schools, and workplaces around the nation.
  6. There is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Even brief or low-level contact with asbestos fibers can lead to mesothelioma decades later.
  7. The latency period is extremely long: 10 to 50 years from initial asbestos exposure to a mesothelioma diagnosis, meaning today’s cases often trace back to exposures from the 1970s, ’80s, or earlier.
  8. Common symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, abdominal swelling, and unexplained weight loss, which are often mistaken for less serious conditions, contributing to late diagnosis.
  9. Mesothelioma has no cure.  Prevention is the only cure. Education is the key to prevention.
  10. The last U.S. asbestos mine closed in 2002, but asbestos remains legal to import and use in some ways, which is why Congress must pass the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act and join more than 70 countries around the world who have banned asbestos once and for all.

Congress has the opportunity to end asbestos use and protect future generations from preventable disease and death. ADAO calls on lawmakers to mark Mesothelioma Awareness Day by passing ARBAN. 

Learn more about asbestos and asbestos disease prevention at asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.

###