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Posted on March 29, 2025

🌍 DAY TWO – April 2, 2025: World Health Organization Asbestos-Related Disease Fact Sheet
 2025 Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW)

On Day Two of Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW), we spotlight one of the most powerful resources in global prevention: the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Asbestos-Related Disease Fact Sheet. This globally recognized tool provides life-saving, science-based information about the devastating health impacts of asbestos exposure. It’s free for all to view and share. 

We also share the story of Julie (USA), featured in “The Power of Public Health Advocacy: A Patient’s Perspective.” Julie’s voice is a powerful reminder that behind every statistic is a real person whose life has been forever altered by this preventable toxin.

Despite decades of scientific warnings, asbestos continues to be used and imported in the United States. As Dr. Richard Lemen, former Assistant Surgeon General and ADAO Science Advisory Board Co-Chair, states: “In 1976 NIOSH recommended to OSHA that asbestos be banned in the workplace, but no such ban has ever been enacted and thousands continue to be exposed and die from asbestos-related diseases.”

This long-standing failure to act underscores the urgency of our mission.

According to the WHO:

  • An estimated 125 million people are still exposed to asbestos at work each year.
  • All six types of asbestos are classified as carcinogenic to humans.
  • Asbestos causes fatal diseases, including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.
  • Over 200,000 people die each year from asbestos-related illnesses—yet many remain unaware of the risks.

The WHO makes it clear: “The most efficient way to eliminate asbestos-related diseases is to stop the use of all types of asbestos.”

We are proud to stand with our Partner for Prevention, the International Commission of Occupational Health (ICOH). ICOH’s leadership and global reach continue to amplify the science and policy necessary to eliminate asbestos exposure worldwide.

#2025GAAW Day Two Call to Action: Invite your family, friends, and colleagues to join Global Asbestos Awareness Week (April 1–7).

Knowledge saves lives. Advocacy demands justice. Prevention is the cure.
 ~ Linda Reinstein

Thank you to our Day Two 2025 Platinum Sponsor: Dean Omar Branham Shirley, LLP 

📅 Check back tomorrow for 🎨 Day Three – April 3: Asbestos: Art, Advocacy, and Action, as we honor Warren Zevon through his moving story “My Hero, the World’s Hero,” and explore how art and advocacy unite to drive change.