September 11, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the largest U.S. nonprofit dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure through education, advocacy, and community initiatives, will host its 20th Anniversary Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference (AAPC) in New York City on September 12–13, 2025.
This year’s conference, themed “Building on Dr. Selikoff’s Legacy in Asbestos Science, Prevention & Justice,” commemorates the 24th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and honors the ongoing public health crisis affecting first responders and recovery workers exposed to asbestos at Ground Zero.
New York City Councilwoman, the Honorable Gale Brewer, will give a keynote address. Brewer has recently championed historic legislation to investigate what the city knew about the hazards of the 9/11 site, and when, exactly, they knew it.
“More lives have been lost from respiratory issues, cancers, and other diseases caused by the toxins at Ground Zero and the surrounding areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn than were lost on the day of the attack itself. This toxic legacy, this unnecessary suffering after disaster strikes, is preventable: if we know how and when to take proper precautions to protect lives from dangerous exposure to chemicals like asbestos,” said Councilwoman Gale Brewer. “For most of the 20th century, developers in New York and around the nation used asbestos to build our homes and communities. Natural disasters like wildfires, floods, or hurricanes can disrupt this legacy asbestos and put communities and first responders at risk. We need to be vigilant, be informed, and take precautions to protect communities. And we need to ban asbestos to end this cycle of suffering. Credit to the ADAO for continuing to focus on this issue,” she concluded.
Founder of the FealGood Foundation and 9/11 victims advocate, John Feal, will also deliver a keynote address. “First responders risk their lives to protect us when disaster strikes, just like the heroes who ran towards the World Trade Center did on 9/11. We know they are at a greater risk from dangerous toxins like asbestos, and we have to come together to do everything in our power to reduce the risk and protect those who protect us,” said John Feal. “For decades, I’ve made it my mission to fight for those who ran towards danger on September 11th, just like ADAO has fought for asbestos victims. We share a common goal and are united in our fight to end the suffering of the bravest among us.”
The full-day conference will feature nearly 40 experts in medicine, science, law, and policy who will present on the latest advancements in diagnosing, treating, and preventing asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma and other cancers.
Special attention will be paid to international policy developments, civil justice, and the enduring health impacts of 9/11. It will take place at Mount Sinai Hospital, a medical center at the forefront of caring for patients with 9/11-related and asbestos-related illnesses for more than two decades.
“We do what we can to help patients, but by the time they are sick with an asbestos-caused disease, it is simply too late. We have to stop asbestos-related diseases at the source by eliminating asbestos exposures and banning asbestos in the United States once and for all,” said Dr. Raja Flores, Chairman for the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Steven and Ann Ames Professor in Thoracic Surgery at the Mount Sinai Health System. Flores will join the experts at the conference to speak on the ongoing fight to end asbestos exposures.
“It is an honor to be joined by so many distinguished leaders from across many disciplines as we continue the fight for asbestos victims. For decades, we have known that asbestos is deadly, and we have worked tirelessly to end its use in the United States and worldwide,” said Linda Reinstein, ADAO President and Co-Founder. “For 20 years, our coalition of scientists, medical providers, patient advocates, workers’ representatives, and asbestos warriors has united to push toward the goal of ending asbestos-caused disease and death once and for all. Returning to New York City to honor heroes like Dr. Selikoff and the 9/11 first responders is a fitting tribute to the broad and tireless advocates working ot prevent all asbestos-caused diseases.”
Despite being a known carcinogen, asbestos remains legal and in use in the United States. More than 40,000 Americans die each year from preventable asbestos-caused diseases. The attacks on September 11, 2001, created one of the most extensive occupational health disasters in U.S. history, underscoring the urgent need for prevention and policy change.
For more information on the conference, visit https://www.adaoconferences.org/
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