Still Relevant 2018 Rewire Op-Ed : Women: Exposed and Silenced by Asbestos
Posted on October 28, 2021
On October 14, Johnson & Johnson announced that they were creating a new and separate subsidiary of the company in order to manage all the cosmetic talc litigation that has been filed against them. The company claims that this new subsidiary was created in order to make sure all litigation related to cosmetic talc is resolved in a way that is equitable for all parties.
This is clearly another avoidance tactic by the company, and the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) does not support J&J finding ways to dodge the consequences for their actions. This is also another very clear sign that corporations cannot manage their liability when it comes to public health and protection, and Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) need to step up to protect Americans from asbestos exposure.
In response to this action by J&J, ADAO signed on to a group letter to the House Judiciary Committee. Signed by nearly 40 organizations, the letter states support for H.R. 4777, the Nondebtor Release Prohibition Act of 2021, which would prevent companies from abusing the bankruptcy system to escape accountability for wrongdoing and cheat victims who have been harmed. The letter also urges Congress to pass this critical legislation and stop companies from knowingly and actively committing wrongdoing and then hiding behind bankruptcy schemes, which is exactly what J&J has done here.
“Unless Congress acts, we can expect other corporations engaged in misconduct to use these same brazen legal maneuvers to cover-up wrongdoing, escape responsibility, and defraud victims,” the letter states.
Court records show that J&J was aware that the talc used in Johnson’s Baby Powder sometimes contained asbestos since the late 1950s, however, they did nothing to prevent the widespread sale of the powder. Exposure to asbestos has been known to cause mesothelioma and cancers of the lung, larynx, and ovaries for decades. Internal documents revealed during litigation shows that despite this knowledge, J&J aggressively marketed its talc-based baby powder to women of color.
Congress needs to protect Americans everywhere by enacting a full-out ban against asbestos. The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act (ARBAN) already has bipartisan support and passed out of the U.S. House of Energy and Commerce in 2019 with a resounding vote of 47-1. The bill would ban asbestos imports and use, force EPA to conduct a study of legacy asbestos, and create a “Right to Know” program, so all Americans know where asbestos is imported and used.
Our hearts are with the victims who were exposed to asbestos through J&J products, and we hope that they all receive what they are due from J&J. No one else should be exposed to asbestos, through a company’s misdeeds or through EPA’s failure to implement a ban. Congress needs to take action to protect all Americans, and they need to do it now.
Linda Reinstein