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Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Newsletter |  |
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"ADAO ANNOUNCES 2007 AAD HONOREES"
REDONDO BEACH, CA.
JANUARY 2, 2007
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) today announced four award winners for their outstanding work and dedication to asbestos awareness related activities. Senator Patty Murray will be presented with the Tribute of Hope Award for her quest to ban asbestos and fund research for a cure; Pat Martin, Canadian Member of Parliament, will receive the Tribute of Unity Award for his global work to unite, educate and empower asbestos victims and public health workers; Dr. Michael Harbut will be recognized with the Dr. Irving Selikoff Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of his dedicated research into the social and medical impact asbestos has had on humankind; Paul and Michelle Zygielbaum will be presented with the Tribute of Inspiration Award for being a bridge to hope for mesothelioma victims and their families as they continue to offer encouragement, comfort, funding and guidance. To read the entire release, please go HERE.
March 31st and April 1st 2007
Drexel University School of Public Health Global Mission: Call To Action To Prevent, Detect And Treat Asbestos-Related Diseases And Trauma
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization's 3rd Annual
Asbestos Awareness Day Conference is to be held on March 31st and April
1st 2007. This conference is made possible with the support and
collaborative efforts from the Drexel University School of Public
Health and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS).
The goal of the conference is to educate, integrate and empower professionals with the most advanced medical, occupational and environmental information available about asbestos related disease to individuals throughout the world. Prominent physicians, scientists, safety and health professionals and victims' advocates will present up-to-date information regarding the status of asbestos in the United States, Canada and worldwide. Sessions topics include:
Online registration begins on January 15th, 2007, ADAO is seeking corporate sponsors to help defray the costs of this event. You can help by contacting appropriate representatives of companies with an interest in combating the continuing devastation caused by asbestos. Sponsors will have the opportunity to be recognized and to promote their own businesses and products as appropriate to the conference audience; donations are tax-deductible. Sponsorship commitments are needed by February 15, and funds will be required by February 28. In order to maintain our independence, ADAO is unable to accept donations from attorneys. Sponsorship forms are available Memorial or Honor Tributes will be printed in our 2007 AAD Conference Program. Full page,½ page and 4 line tributes can be placed with a donation. Tribute forms are available. By honoring your loved one, you make it possible to broaden public awareness. For tribute more information contact Lee or Marsha at AAD@asbestosdiseaseawareness.org You can help ensure the success of this important conference by securing sponsors and/or tribute donations. Please contact AAD@asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization is pleased to
introduce our Science Advisory Board, lead by Dr. Arthur Frank and Dr.
Richard Lemen. Their combined safety and medical experience represents
more than fifty years.
Arthur L. Frank, MD, PhD is co-chair of ADAO's Science Advisory Board and serves as Professor of Public Health and Chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia. Trained in both occupational and internal medicine, Dr. Frank has been interested in the health hazards of asbestos for more than 35 years. He has published extensively on the hazards of asbestos, and clinically cared for asbestos-effected patients. He has lectured internationally about the problems of asbestos and studied the diseases caused by asbestos in the US and abroad.  Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Science Advisory
Board Goals:
A special 30-page section on asbestos is contained in the
current issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, which
includes a report, written by Laurie Kazan-Allen, on the 2nd annual
conference of the Asbestos Diseases Awareness Organization (ADAO),
which took place at Mount Sinai in New York in April 2006. Also
included are papers by several of the presenters at that event.
Since the ADAO conference took place, it seems that every month has brought news of global action on asbestos. Asbestos issues have been at the heart of protests by trade unions, statements by international agencies, conferences held by asbestos victims' groups and symposia for researchers and medical personnel. The combined efforts being made to raise awareness and find effective treatments for the horrendous diseases caused by asbestos exposure are truly inspirational and it is fitting that mention is made of them to bring this special section of the AJIM up to date. For information on how to purchase a copy of this important issue of the AJIM,Contact:Herman@asbestosdiseaseawareness. org
"You could help save a life. You can both view and share the
Survivor video with a friend Here".
On October 19th, The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an organization dedicated to serving as the voice of asbestos victims, launched an online awareness campaign designed to spread the word about the dangers of asbestos. The effort centers on a powerful educational video that can be easily forwarded through e-mail. Through a "viral marketing" effect, the e-mail ad aims to save lives by raising awareness about the widespread use of asbestos, which takes 10,000 lives annually in the United States alone. "Many people do not realize that asbestos continues to
permeate our lives and that it is not banned in the United States,
making this kind of educational e-mail-
driven campaign more important than ever," stated ADAO Executive
Director Linda Reinstein. "Paul Zygielbaum, who is featured in the
video, is fighting asbestos disease and reminds us all that there is
hope and strength in unity. We must continue to work together to ban
its use and fuel critical research and education efforts that can save
lives."
The 2006 Asian Asbestos Conference, "Protecting People from
Asbestos", was held in Thailand from July 26th – July 27th.
More than 300 delegates from 20 countries came together to examine the effects of increasing asbestos consumption in Asia. The conference had press coverage in Thailand, Japan, Canada and the United States. During plenary and workshop sessions, asbestos victims and family members, doctors, scientists, politicians, trade unionist and activists from around the world, spoke about the prevention and detection of asbestos-related disease. As a result of the conference, Japanese and Thai doctors diagnosed the first case of asbestosis in Thailand on Friday, July 28th, 2006. The World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization and the IBAS worked closely with Thai organizers from the Ministry of Public Health to mount this event, which constituted a unique opportunity for Asian delegates to share their experiences and confer with leading international experts. Recognizing the advances made by the ADAO and the leadership of its President, The Alan Reinstein Memorial Award was presented to the Thai Director – General of the Department of Disease Control. To read the presentation speech made by Linda Reinstein, please go Here. During the final session of the conference, The Bangkok Declaration on the Elimination of Asbestos and Asbestos-related Disease was adopted which called for a total ban on the use of asbestos and asbestos-containing products. Next year's Asian Asbestos Conference has been scheduled for the fall of 2007 in Indonesia.
In the United States, the ADAO has given a visibility to
these hideous diseases and now it's time for Congress to meet us. Margy
Urnberg, National State Representative Director, works tirelessly to
coordinate the efforts of our volunteers. ADAO State Representatives:
We hope that you will take a few minutes to "meet" each other. We are grateful to those of you who have sent us pictures and information about yourself and invite all of you to do so. To join the ADAO team, please email: action@AsbestosDiseaseAwareness.org
"Goodsearch" to Support ADAO
by Margy Urnburg
By using GoodSearch.com to search the Internet, every time
you do, money goes to ADAO. Simply type in ADAO as the charity you
support when using this search site.
The site is powered by Yahoo!, so you'll get the same quality search results that you're used to. What's unique is that they have developed a way to direct money to ADAO with every click. The more people who use this site, the more money will go to those in need. So please encourage your friends and family to use GOODSEARCH.
"CAPITOL TUNNEL WORKERS"
by Jillian Aldebron
Deep beneath the feet of the Capitol, a 10-man maintenance
team is being subjected daily to levels of asbestos exposure that are
off the charts. The Capitol Power Plant tunnel crew, whose job is to
keep members of Congress warm in winter and cool in summer, labors
daily inside a five-mile network of dilapidated utility tunnels, some
of which are 100 years old. Temperatures in the cramped, stifling
quarters reach 150 degrees, and concrete falling from crumbling
ceilings regularly rips through the already heat-stressed plumbing
insulation, leaving piles of white dust with 40% concentrations of
asbestos. There are hundreds of tons of asbestos insulation in the
tunnels, according to the Office of Compliance, which is responsible
for making sure the legislative branch obeys certain federal laws.
Until last March, the crew, some of whom have worked in the tunnels for decades and many of whom suffer chronic breathing problems, had no respirators or decontamination procedures. Neither were they given appropriate medical screening. One crew member finally obtained access to his medical file only to discover that his lung age was estimated as equivalent to that of a 118-year-old. The man was only 33 years old at the time. The situation changed in March after the workers wrote letters to several senators and representatives pleading for help. That prompted their employer, the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), to issue the crew respirators and protective suits. But the AOC still refuses to pay for medical diagnosis by their doctor of choice, Dr. Michael Harbut, a leading national expert in asbestos disease who is already the treating physician of several crew members. Moreover, AOC management has been retaliating against the workers for blowing the whistle on the life-threatening conditions in the tunnels. In the latest development, the AOC has forbidden the tunnel supervisor to use his budget to pay for hydrating fluids and coveralls for the crew. Asbestos abatement in the tunnels is being left to private contractors, who reporters have spotted performing the hazardous job without following OSHA guidelines-- potentially exposing workers and pedestrians on the streets of Capitol Hill to airborne asbestos. The tunnel crew has filed a complaint with the Office of Compliance against the AOC for retaliation and a hostile work environment. They continue to press Congress for help in getting medical testing and treatment. (Since this article was written, the tunnel crew was recognized by the Shafeek Nader Trust for their courage in speaking out about their deplorable working conditions. Congress, however, which has the power to compensate their injuries and remediate the environmental dangers lurking beneath Capitol Hill, remains mute). "UPDATE FROM THE HILL"
by Paul Zygielbaum
The US Congress has been relatively quiet on the issue of
asbestos litigation during the past few months, following the failure
of S3274 on the Senate floor. Although Sen. Arlen Specter (R-
PA) vowed to resolve concerns preventing passage of the bill, which
would strip victims of their right to sue for damages, he has been
unable to muster the 60 potential supporting votes that Majority Leader
Bill Frist (R-TN) has demanded as a pre-requisite to reviving the bill.
Each effort to gain support seems to have further divided the Senate
over the provisions of the bill. An important example is the expansion
of eligibility under the trust fund to victims of the World Trade
Center collapse. Intended to defray criticism that the bill unfairly
discriminates against certain classes of victims, this provision
exacerbated existing concerns that the fund will become insolvent in
the future, which would drive claimants back into the courts. The
summer Senate recess and the approach of the November mid-term
elections had further hindered the bill, and the current visibility of
the trial of former WR Grace executives for their part in the illness
and deaths of many citizens of Libby, MT, has made Senators wary of
showing support for asbestos companies at this time. ADAO remains
firmly opposed to the bill as being unfair to victims.
Meanwhile, the National Mesothelioma Registry, which is being created through a 2006 year-end appropriation of $1 million to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), has been awarded the same amount for 2007. In a closely related and long-overdue action, mesothelioma has been included as an eligible disease in the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program, enabling investigators to compete for research funding under the program’s $45 million budget for 2007. As Congress returns to The Hill, ADAO is gearing up for more meetings with the Senate and House to discuss the need for a fair and balanced bill that takes into account the voice of the victims' and the need to increase funding for education, prevention and research.
Key opposition points to Senate Bill 3274:
My beloved husband and President of ADAO, Alan Reinstein,
passed away from his three-
year mesothelioma battle on May 22nd, 2006. For each life lost, a
shattered family is left behind.
As President of ADAO, an independent volunteer organization, Alan stood unwavering as a beacon of hope to victims and their families and shared his courage and strength with patients around the world. Isolation exacerbates the fears of victims and their families. Alan believed in education, social action, and accountablity. He spoke up and out on the dangers of asbestos to the U.S. Senate and internationally to the press. Asbestos has been an acknowledged human carcinogen for decades and remains the world's leading cause of workplace cancer. ADAO is an all-volunteer organization, powered by the people, who turn their anger into action. And now has more than 3500 supporters around the world and have 100 active volunteers and partners. Our unity and commitment to asbestos disease awareness has enabled us to make great progress in education, prevention, and advocacy. To read a summary of our accomplishments, please visit Here. In honor of my husband and hundred of thousands of victims and families around the world, ADAO will continue our efforts focused on education, prevention, advocacy and a research for cure.
It Took My Breath Away: One Man's
Experience, May Save Your Life, by
Andrew Robbins
ADAO introduces author Andrew Robbins to our team. Robbins
writes about his own exposure to asbestos in It Took My Breath Away:
One Man's Experience May Save Your Life. Robbins focuses on raising
asbestos awareness and on environmental dangers the public faces in
unexpected ways each day. His book brings to light our innocent
encounters with deadly mineral toxins; government dereliction, as
environmental safety clashes with corporate greed; and medical
illnesses and treatment options. This book is a nonfiction manuscript,
315 pages, easily read, and well documented.
In future newsletters, ADAO will feature articles written by the author to include: Fireworks; Open-pit Mining, Zoning, and Quality of Life; New Orleans Fallout; Mental and Physical Damage; and other articles when they become available. Purchase your copy of "It Took My Breath Away" HERE.
ADAO is committed to honoring the courageous victims who have
lost their fight against asbestos related diseases. Margy, our ADAO
Nevada Representative lost her father to mesothelioma. In honoring his
memory, she has provided a name/photo tribute website for all victims.
If you would like Margy to add a photo of your loved one, please email her directly at:Margy- NV@asbestosdiseaseawareness.org Tributes, may be viewed, Here.
Should you have a problem seeing the images, please be sure you have "images enabled" on your computer. Please direct any questions or comments regarding the newsletter to me, Herman Hamilton. Herman@AsbestosDiseaseAwareness.org
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phone: 310-437-3886
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