VIDEOS: Asbestos: The Killer You Can’t See” ||  “Asbesto: El asesino que no puede” ||  “Асбест: убийца, которого вы не видите“ ||  “एस्बेस्टोस: द किलर आप देख नहीं सकते”  ||  “Amianto: O assassino que você não pode” ||  “L’amiante: le tueur que vous ne voyez pas”

GAAW Press Releases in English, Russian, Hindi, Portuguese, French, and Spanish

Updated on March 22, 2019

Each year, ADAO dedicates April 1-7 to increasing awareness of asbestos and preventing exposure by bringing together experts and victims from around the world to share, learn, and take action.  

Asbestos is a known carcinogen and there is no safe level of exposure. Throughout the 19th century, this mineral was widely used in construction, shipbuilding, and the automotive industry. Without a ban, asbestos remains legal and lethal in nearly 70% of the world today, including in the United States. As such, it continues to kill more than 200,000 people globally each year, though — infuriatingly — every one of these deaths is 100% preventable. Prevention is our focus this week as we remember: “Hear Asbestos. Think Prevention.”

Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW) is dedicated to educating people about both the risk of asbestos and how to manage it in order to prevent asbestos-caused diseases. While promising research continues, prevention remains the only cure. When it comes to asbestos and mesothelioma, knowledge truly is power. This week is about delivering that power: we seek to equip people with the tools they need to protect themselves while we work for preventative legislation and a cure.

Since founding the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) in 2004, we have worked with the U.S. Senate to unanimously pass 15 Asbestos Awareness Week Resolutions and secure six U.S. Surgeon General asbestos warnings. Building on strength and collaboration, this year’s GAAW will focus on:

  1. Banning the mining, manufacturing, and use of asbestos
  2. Preventing asbestos exposure through education and awareness
  3. Increasing compliance and enforcement of existing laws and regulations

The week features daily educational resources from leading organizations, including guest blogs, videos, and asbestos victims’ stories. It will end on April 7 with an online candlelight vigil. We are excited to once again partner with artist and activist Firdaus Kharas to feature a different Public Service Announcement video each day, which will capture the tragic reality about deadly asbestos. These 30-second animated clips will be available in six languages. We are also thrilled this year to dedicate one day of GAAW 2019 to our newly introduced bill in the U.S. Congress, the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2019, which would fully ban asbestos in the U.S. within 12 months.

It is exciting to see the global community unite and collaborate for Global Asbestos Awareness Week. Thank you for joining us during this week of learning and community! Please follow the week via our website and through social media using #2019GAAW.

You have proven that together we make change happen.

Linda Reinstein
Social Networks

2019 GAAW Schedule:

Day ONE – April 1: World Health Organization and Elimination of Asbestos-Related Disease
Day One Ambassador: Heather (United States) — Read her story  “The Value of My Life in Dollars and Tears”
Featured Video: Asbestos: The Killer You Can’t See”
Press Release: ADAO Launches 15th Annual “Global Asbestos Awareness Week” April 1-7, 2019

Day TWO – April 2: Champions of Change in Washington, D.C. and Around the World
Day Two Ambassador: Julie, (United States) — Read her story “The Power of Public Health Advocacy: A Patient’s Perspective”
Featured Video: “Асбест: убийца, которого вы не видите“
Press Release (Russian): Организация по информированию о заболеваниях, вызываемых асбестом, (ADAO) проводит 15-ю ежегодную «Всемирную неделю осведомленности об асбесте» с 1 по 7 апреля 2019 года

Day THREE – April 3: Art, Advocacy, and Academia — George Washington University documentary screening of Breathless and panel discussion
Day Three Ambassadors:  Conor and Zack, (United States) — Read Iva’s story in Dirty Laundry that Kills” 
Featured Video: “Asbesto: El asesino que no puedes ver”
Press Release (Spanish): La “Organización de Concientización Sobre la Enfermedad del Asbesto” (ADAO, por sus siglas en inglés) lanza su “Décimo Quinta (15ª) Semana Mundial de Concientización Sobre el Asbesto” del 1ro. al 7 de abril de 2019.

  • Felipe Rico Atara, filmmaker
  • Earl Dotter, photographer
  • Conor Lewis and Zack Johnson, filmmakers
  • Daniel Lambo, filmmaker
  • Conor Lewis and Zack Johnson, filmmakers
  • Natasha Luckhardt, filmmaker
  • Barbara McQueen, writer and photographer
  • Paolo Monico, filmmaker
  • Jordan Zevon, musician

Day FOUR – April 4: Global Partners. Global Action
Day Four  Ambassador: Mavis, (United Kingdom) — Read her story “I fight on for all our Meso Warriors past, present and future.”
Featured Video: “एस्बेस्टोस: द किलर आप देख नहीं सकते”
Press Release (Hindi): द एस्बॅस्टस डिसीज़ अवेयरनेस ऑर्गेनाइज़ेशन (ADAO) 1-7 अप्रैल, 2019 को लॉन्च कर रही है 15वाँ वार्षिक “ग्लोबल एस्बॅस्टस अवेयरनेस वीक’’ छ: अलग-अलग भाषाओं में अनूदित, इस वर्ष का अभियान एक वैश्विक एस्बॅस्टस-मुक्त भविष्य की दिशा में किये जा रहे अपने कार्यों की पहुँच और विस्तृत कर रहा है

Day FIVE – April 5: ADAO’s March for Justice and Remembrance in Washington, DC
Day Five Ambassador: Mike,  (United States) — Read his story “Staying Positive”
Featured Video: “Amianto: O assassino que você não pode ver”
Press Release (Portuguese): A Organização de Consciencialização sobre a Asbestose (ADAO) Lança a 15ª “Semana Global Anual de Consciencialização sobre o Amianto”, que terá lugar de 1 a 7 de Abril de 2019

Day SIX – April 6: Advancing Prevention Through Digital Education: ADAO Livestreaming Conference and “kNØw Asbestos” Website
Day Six Ambassador: Sara, (France) — Read her story: “Someone Pulled the Emergency Brake!”
Featured Video: “L’amiante: le tueur que vous ne voyez pas”
Press Release (French): L’ADAO organise sa 15ème « Semaine annuelle de sensibilisation à l’amiante » du 1er au 7 avril 2019 

Day SEVEN – April 7: Candle Light Vigil to Honor and Remember Asbestos Victims Worldwide and Workers’ Memorial Day on April 28
Remembering Paul, (United States) — Read his story Dust into Gold: Banning Asbestos Is Good Business”