Posted on March 30, 2020

Press Release: ADAO Launches 16th Annual “Global Asbestos Awareness Week” April 1-7, 2020: Partnering for Asbestos Prevention Circles the Globe

Posted on March 30, 2020

Each year, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) dedicates Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW) 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. To view all 7 days of GAAW content, please click here. We’d also like to thank the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) for sharing it’s No Time to Lose campaign resources on preventing asbestos exposure and to McOnie for their commitment in the international distribution of the GAAW press release. Be sure to follow the conversation on social media with our GAAW hashtag: #2020GAAW.

*COVID-19 INFORMATION AND AWARENESS: To protect your family and stop the spread, learn more about World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and best practices during this outbreak here

Today, on day two of GAAW, we will be highlighting some critical asbestos-related resources from the World Health Organization (WHO). To have such a globally respected institution disseminating information about the dangers of asbestos is immeasurably important. We are also featuring the powerful personal story from Julie: “The Power of Public Health Advocacy: A Patient’s Perspective.”

Throughout the 19th century, asbestos was widely used in construction, shipbuilding, the automotive industry, and various types of manufacturing. Now a known carcinogen, the mineral remains legal and lethal in nearly 70% of countries around the world, including the United States.

Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma, lung, gastrointestinal, colorectal, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers; as well as non-malignant lung and pleural disorders.

Key WHO Facts

  • About 125 million people in the world are exposed to asbestos at the workplace
  • All forms of asbestos, including chrysotile, are carcinogenic to humans

Although there are 200,000 asbestos deaths worldwide a year, most people are unaware of its existence and dangers. This is especially problematic because asbestos-caused diseases are 100% preventable — you just have to prevent exposure. Education campaigns by WHO, the Global Ban Asbestos Network (GBAN), ADAO, and other public health organizations aim to help people learn life-saving prevention techniques.

A 2006 WHO paper offered four essential recommendations to eliminating asbestos-related diseases:

  • Recognizing that the most efficient way to eliminate asbestos-related diseases is to stop the use of all types of asbestos
  • Providing information and incentives for replacing asbestos with safer substitutes
  • Taking measures to prevent exposure to asbestos in place and during asbestos removal (abatement)
  • Improving early diagnosis, treatment, and social and medical rehabilitation for asbestos-related diseases

In 2014, WHO published another useful resource, the Chrysotile Asbestos report, which explains the health risks attached to exposure to chrysotile asbestos. Dispelling the propaganda-fuelled myth that deadly chrysotile is a “safe” form of asbestos, the report leaves nothing to the imagination: “exposure to asbestos, including chrysotile, causes cancer.

We recognize that as of March 11, 2020, WHO declared coronavirus a pandemic. Mesothelioma and cancer patients might feel especially worried about the coronavirus as cancer and its treatment can lower the ability to fight infection. Be sure to follow CDC and WHO guidelines surrounding health and safety during this pandemic, and you can utilize the webpage IOSH has developed to help employers and health and safety professionals prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

Join the global conversation by connecting with @Linda_ADAO, @IOSH_tweets and @_NTTL on Twitter, and be sure to share a fact you learned from this article on social media with the hashtag #2020GAAW! 

Special thanks to our 2020 Platinum Sponsor Simmons Hanly Conroy, LLC.

Together, we make change happen. 

Linda Reinstein
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