In April, ADAO had the honor to present “E X P O S E D: Workers at Risk” at the 11th Inter-American Congress on Prevention of Occupation Risks in Mexico City. This international conference discussed various safety concerns, including the work of Dr. Guadalupe Aguilar-Madrid, esteemed researcher and asbestos ban advocate. She is calling on the Mexican Government to ban asbestos and take measures to tackle the epidemic of asbestos-related diseases.

ADAO is pleased to include Arturo Juarez’s video clip “Mexico Ban Asbestos Advocates Speak Up about Deadly Canadian Asbestos Exportation” (English and Spanish) that details the disturbing facts about asbestos use in Mexico, which can be seen on YouTube. The clip, narrated by Dr. Aguilar-Madrid, explains that in the last 45 years, more that 480,000 tons of asbestos have been used in Mexico, 75% of which were imported from Canada. Nowadays, 1,800 companies in Mexico manufacture asbestos-containing products. The explosion in asbestos use in Mexico has led to an increase in asbestos-related deaths.

What makes this relevant to Americans is that many of the products produced in Mexico’s asbestos-contaminated factories are then exported as consumer goods to the United States. Though asbestos imports into the United States has decreased over the past few years, in 2009 United States Geological Society (USGS) reported we imported 715 tons of asbestos in the form of consumer goods.

In unity, Linda Reinstein