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Posted on March 29, 2025

🌐 DAY FIVE – April 5, 2025: Global Action to Ban Asbestos in the USA and Around the World
2025 Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW)

Day Five of Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW) marks a pivotal shift toward bold, united action. Under the theme “Global Action to Ban Asbestos in the USA and Around the World,” we honor the legacy of Simon Pickvance (United Kingdom)—a tireless advocate who dedicated his life to exposing the deadly risks of asbestos in the workplace.

Simon’s story, “The Man Who Exposed How Work Can Kill,” is both a searing indictment of industrial negligence and a rallying cry for prevention and justice. Though asbestos is banned in nearly 70 countries, it continues to be mined, used, and exported in others—placing workers and communities at ongoing risk.

Simon’s mesothelioma diagnosis was not a tragic irony but a foreseeable consequence of systemic failure. As Rory O’Neill of Hazards Magazine powerfully reflects: “Simon was critical in exposing how pursuit of profits by industry came at a high price to working people and communities. People said it was ‘ironic’ he subsequently developed mesothelioma. It wasn’t ironic, it was the inevitable consequence of the cynical promotion of the marketing and use of asbestos. Like a quarter of a million other asbestos-related deaths each year, Simon’s death was one more preventable tragedy.”

We are proud to stand with Hazards Magazine as our Partner for Prevention. Their fearless reporting, research, and advocacy have long illuminated the intersection of occupational health, corporate accountability, and social justice. Their commitment to truth-telling continues to shape global awareness and policy reform.

As we look ahead to Workers’ Memorial Day on April 28, we echo the call to:

“Mourn the Dead, and Fight Like Hell for the Living.”

#2025GAAW Day Five Call to Action: Sign the “Ban Asbestos in the U.S. Now, Without Loopholes or Exemptions” petition

Let Day Five renew our shared commitment: to ban asbestos, protect workers, and prevent future generations from paying the price of industry’s past mistakes.

~ Linda Reinstein

Thank you to our Day One 2025 Platinum Sponsor: Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP 

📅 Check back tomorrow for 💻 Day Six – April 6: Advancing Asbestos Prevention Through Digital Education and the “kNØw Asbestos” Website. We’ll feature Sara’s story: “Someone Pulled the Emergency Brake!”.