Posted on September 25, 2020
For the first time in the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organizations (ADAO) history, we are sending a video message to congress from our Science 
and Prevention Advisory Boards, urging them to pass the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act (H.R. 1603). Without a ban, homes, schools, workplaces, and consumer products can, and still do, contain asbestos.
Collectively, these 13 experts, Arthur Frank, MD, PhD; Barry Castleman, ScD; Brad Black, MD; Brent Kynoch; Christine Oliver, MD, MPH, MS; Claire Deacon, PhD; Ellen Costa; John Newquist; Kim Cecchini; Linda Reinstein; Richard Lemen, PhD, MSPH; Robert Sussman; and Tom Laubenthal, have more than 300 years of experience.
Each year, nearly 40,000 Americans die from preventable asbestos-caused diseases, including mesothelioma and cancers of the lung, larynx, and ovaries; yet imports and use continue.
As we near 2020 Mesothelioma Awareness Day, we want to speak up for all the victims of Mesothelioma, and other asbestos-caused diseases, who are fighting, or have been silenced by this legal and lethal carcinogen.
Join us in urging Congress and EPA to ban asbestos now without any loopholes or exemptions by signing our petition!
The time to ban asbestos and save lives is now. Together, change is possible.
Linda Reinstein
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Speaker Bios
Arthur Frank, MD, PhD is a physician board certified in both internal medicine and occupational medicine and currently serves as Professor of Public Health and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia. He is also a Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary) at the Drexel College of Medicine. He also holds a position at Drexel as Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering. A life-long academic, Dr. Frank has previously taught at Mount Sinai, the University of Kentucky and in the University of Texas System. He has served many governmental agencies in the US and has carried out research and has been a governmental advisor internationally. Trained in both occupational medicine and internal medicine, Dr. Frank has been interested in the health hazards of asbestos for more than 35 years. He has published a great deal of work on the hazards of asbestos, and clinically cared for asbestos affected patients. He has lectured internationally about the problems of asbestos, and worked in many settings looking at the diseases caused by this material. His research interests have been in the areas of occupational cancers and occupational lung diseases, as well as agricultural safety and health. For thirty-seven years he held a commission in the U S Public Health Service (active and inactive) and served on active duty both at the NIH and at NIOSH. Arthur is the ADAO Science Advisory Board Co-Chair.
Barry Castleman, ScD is an Environmental Consultant trained in chemical and environmental engineering. He holds a Doctor of Science degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He has been a consultant to numerous agencies of the US government and other governments, international bodies, and environmental groups dealing with a wide range of public health issues. He has testified as an expert in civil litigation in the US on the history of asbestos as a public health problem and the reasons for failure to properly control asbestos hazards. Dr. Castleman has spent the past. 40 years working on asbestos as a public health problem.
Brad Black, MD (SLT Director, Eastern Region) has been involved with ADAO in various capacities since before the first Asbestos Awareness Conference in Washington, DC in 2005. Marilyn is the widow of Joe Amento, Jr., who died of mesothelioma at the age of 53, only 6 months after his first symptom. Joe was exposed to asbestos approximately 40 years prior while visiting his father at one of the several asbestos plants, and playing on asbestos scrap piles in the small borough of Ambler, a Philadelphia suburb. Marilyn has a Master’s Degree in Human Services Management from The Heller School of Brandeis University, and is the proud Mom of two college students, Joe and Julie. She channels her grief and anger with Brad Black, MD has been the Medical Director and CEO for the Center for Asbestos and Related Disease (CARD Clinic) in Libby, Montana since 2000. He has been a physician in the Libby medical community since 1977 and became the Lincoln County Health Officer in 1984. Beginning in 1999, he worked closely with Dr. Alan Whitehouse, a Spokane, WA pulmonologist, for 9 years. Since 2000, Dr. Black has had the opportunity to care for thousands of patients and this longitudinal observation of progressive pleural fibrosis has led to a clear characterization of Libby amphibole asbestos disease. CARD continues to provide asbestos health screening and care to a population with significant Libby Amphibole exposure and related diseases. In 2008 he presented at the National Institute of Health/National Cancer Institute about the progressive pleural fibrosis and mesothelioma identified in those exposed to Libby amphibole asbestos. He was instrumental in initiating research on Libby amphibole asbestos health effects. His work has expanded into research leading to an association with pulmonologists and occupational medicine specialists from multiple academic centers around the U.S. In 2010, Dr. Black became an adjunct professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He has collaborated on a number of professional journal publications, and most recently he participated in a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences working group that developed a publication on the non- neoplastic, pleural endpoints. Today, Dr. Black continues his dedicated efforts to provide excellent healthcare, outreach, advocacy and research for asbestos related diseases.
Brent Kynoch is the Managing Director of the Environmental Information Association, headquartered just outside of Washington, DC in Chevy Chase, MD. He has been the Managing Director of the Association since 1996, but previously had served EIA in other volunteer roles on the Board of Directors as an officer, and ultimately as the President of EIA in 1988 and 1989. EIA has spent over 30 years at the forefront in providing its members with the information needed to remain knowledgeable, responsible and competitive in the environmental health and safety industry. Mr. Kynoch is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he received a degree in mechanical engineering. He is called upon frequently as a speaker, as a writer and as an expert regarding environmental contaminants. He has testified before both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate regarding asbestos, and has written numerous articles on asbestos management and control.
Christine Oliver, MD, MPH, MS is an adjunct professor in the Division of Occupational and Environmental Health in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto in Toronto, ON. She is a consultant to Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW). Dr. Oliver has an occupational and environmental medicine consulting practice in Brookline, MA. She was formerly an associate clinical professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a member of the Department of Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care Division) at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Oliver’s primary specialty is occupational and environmental medicine, with an emphasis on occupational lung disease. Dr. Oliver is a Fellow of the Collegium Ramazzini and has done research and published in the area of occupational lung disease, with a focus on asbestos-related disease. She has lectured frequently on this topic, including more recently the determination of risk for asbestos-related lung cancer. Dr. Oliver has testified before Congress and OSHA on issues related to asbestos and other workplace exposures. She has also testified as a medical expert on behalf and at the request of asbestos victims and their families.
Claire Deacon, PhD, (South Africa Occupational Safety & Health) has practiced in the field of health and safety since 1982. Claire Deacon and associates (cd&a) commenced in 2008, trading under OCCUMED cc. Claire obtained a General Nursing Diploma at Groote Schuur Hospital and qualified in Occupational Health at the University of Stellenbosch. She has completed various degrees: a B.Tech in Occupational Health at Peninsula Technikon; BSc Med] in Ergonomics at the University of Cape Town, and a Masters in Nursing at the University of Port Elizabeth She has completed a PhD Construction Management at NMMU, entitled ‘The Effect of the integration of Procurement, Design and Construction in Health and Safety’. Claire is a Professional Construction H&S Agent with the South African Council for Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) (CHSA 010/2013), one of the first and few women currently practicing in the field with this status. Furthermore, Claire serves as a member of the 4th term Council member appointed by the Minister of Public Works to represent construction H&S in the SACPCMP. In this role, a number of committees and responsibilities are held and participated in. Claire is registered with the South African Nursing Council; is a member of the local Professional Society, the Chartered Institute of Building
Ellen Costa is a Strategy Consultant at Wells Fargo Home Lending and ADAO Board Member. Ellen has been a volunteer with ADAO since 2012 and is honored to be of service to this very special organization; its mission, founders and supporters. Professionally, she has been in the financial services industry for over 25 years and has served firms in marketing, communications, product management and strategic planning. Her current position at Wells Fargo Home Lending is as a strategy consultant in the financial reform regulatory environment. Inspired by Linda Reinstein’s commitment and passion in making change, influencing political policy and advocating for practical issues on a global level, lead to her involvement with the organization. The awareness, family support and leadership ADAO provides in creating the change needed in this world is truly powerful. Most importantly, she believes in Linda Reinstein and is truly privileged to serve the mission of ADAO.
John Newquist (US Occupational Safety & Health) is an independent safety trainer, author, and consultant. He has been interviewed for his safety expertise and OSHA insight by NPR, BNA, Safety + Health Magazine, Mother Jones, and several more. He works with numerous companies to address their OSHA and safety compliance needs. He has a BS in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a Master’s of Science in Industrial Management from Northern Illinois University. He is a Certified Safety Professional. He has taught hundreds of safety seminars across the country including the National VPPPA, Construction Safety Conference, American Society of Safety Engineers, National Fire Protection Association, and numerous Building Trade Councils. He worked for OSHA from 1983-2012 and was also the Area Director of the Peoria Area Office. He currently teaches safety classes at the Construction Safety Council.
Kim Cecchini, ADAO Board Member, has been involved with the organization since its founding in 2004. She is a senior communications strategist, with more than 25 years of experience managing diverse PR and corporate communications programs for a wide variety of high growth companies, specializing in technology and the federal sector. She currently resides in Raleigh, NC.
Linda Reinstein is the President/CEO and Co-Founder of Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO). Reinstein became an activist when her husband, Alan, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2003. She co-founded the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization in 2004, and now serves as President and CEO. Reinstein has been a strong political voice for justice in every major asbestos-related issue. Reinstein, a highly sought-after international speaker, has frequently served as a Congressional witness and presented at the Department of Labor (OSHA), British House of Commons, United Nations Congress, American Public Health Association, and to other audiences around the world. Recognized as an expert with nearly 40 years of nonprofit experience in building and sustaining grassroots organizations, Reinstein specializes in developing, implementing, and leveraging integrated social media campaigns. Focused on national and international occupational and environmental disease prevention, Reinstein’s proficiency in the powerful advocacy space of online media has greatly increased the effectiveness of ADAO’s core mission of education, advocacy, and community support actions. She has won many prestigious awards including the Global Impact Award (2013), from the Independent Asbestos Training Providers; Bruce Vento Hope Builder Award (2011), from the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation; the highest level of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for her 4,000 hours of volunteerism during her lifetime (2010); and the Heart and Soul Award in from the Manhattan Beach Women in Business Association (2005). Recently, after months of collaboration with experts in the U.S. and Australia, Reinstein spearheaded the launch of a new web know Asbestos”, to educate about the dangers of asbestos exposure and prevention.
Richard Lemen, PhD, MSPH is a retired Assistant Surgeon General of the United States and also served as the Acting Director and the Deputy Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health before his retirement. He has been a practicing epidemiologist for more than forty years and has taught graduate level courses on environmental and occupational health issues, including asbestos, at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. He has also testified on behalf of asbestos victims; Dr. Lemen is a world-renowned author, speaker, and lecturer on this topic.
Robert Sussman is the principal in Sussman and Associates, a consulting firm that offers advice on energy and environmental policy issues to clients in the non-profit and private sectors. He has been an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and a Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School. Bob served in the Obama Administration as Co-Chair of the Transition Team for EPA and then as Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator from 2009-2013. He served in the Clinton Administration as the EPA Deputy Administrator during 1993-94. At the end of 2007, Bob retired as a partner at the law firm of Latham & Watkins, where he headed the firm’s environmental practice in DC. Bob was a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress in 2008. He recently served on the Board on Environmental Science of the National Academy of Sciences and is a Commissioner of the Interstate Commission for the Potomac River Basin. Bob is a magna cum laude 1969 graduate of Yale College and a 1973 graduate of Yale Law School. Bob has posted numerous blogs on the Brookings Institution Website and elsewhere and published articles in the Environmental Law Reporter and other publications.
Tom Laubenthal serves as the Training Supervisor & Technical Chief for The Environmental Institute in Marietta, Georgia. He has 36 years of industry service and is considered a nationally recognized subject matter expert within the asbestos and lead-based paint control industries. He has served in a variety of industry leadership roles including as a past National President of the Environmental Information Association and has been a recipient of the EIA’s Snyder Lifetime Achievement Award. He has published extensively in print and e-media, and is regularly invited to speak at technical meetings on topics of asbestos detection and control. He received his B.S. in Geology from Georgia State University.