To read the International Declaration: “Un Mondo Senza Amianto – A World Without Asbestos” drafted by the conference participants which was sent to the United Nations, CLICK HERE.

To view photos of the conference in the Facebook photo album.

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Casale Monferrato, Italy to participate in the Associazione Famigliari Vittime Amianto (AFEVA)’s “A World without Asbestos” conference on April 28-29.  The citizens of Casale Monferrato, a quaint 36,000-person town in north-west Italy, have seen first-hand the devastation brought on by asbestos.  In the last 30 years, more than 1,500 residents have been diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases after occupational exposure in the Eternit asbestos cement factory (which closed in 1986) and environmental exposure to fibers originating from the factory.  But the residents of Casale Monferrato refuse to suffer quietly.  For three decades, the citizens of this town and supporters from around the world have fought for justice for the victims – rallying around the prosecution of Eternit executives in Turin and demanding adequate compensation for those injured or killed by preventable exposure to this deadly carcinogen. The people of Casale brought Dr. Barry Castleman to Turin to testify in this monumentally important criminal trial.  I encourage you to read Dr. Castleman’s excellent summary titled “The Criminal Trial of Stephan Schmidheiny in Turin, Italy”.

The “A World without Asbestos” conference, which coincided with the town’s 6th anniversary of Asbestos Victims Memorial Day, called for a global ban on asbestos and continued fight for justice for the victims of this tragedy.   The conference was truly a testament to the commitment and solidarity of Casale Monferrato’s people, and I left with renewed faith in our power in numbers.  The people of this village are heroes for taking a stand and demanding to be heard, and the amount that they have been able to accomplish together is inspirational. I want to sincerely thank AFEVA and Casale Monferrato for inviting me to join their “family” and share their struggle against asbestos.

In unity,

Linda Reinstein

Social Networks

To read the speech,“Partnering for Prevention and Social Media Advocacy,” CLICK HERE.