Posted on March 7, 2017
Here we are, once again, fighting a battle that shouldn’t have to be fought.
Thirteen years ago, when my husband was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an aggressive and ruthless cancer, we were caught off guard. He was young and asbestos was an issue from America’s past, not a present-day killer. We were gravely mistaken. The dangers of asbestos have been known since the early 1900s, but asbestos is still legal and lethal in the U.S., causing devastating illnesses and death for those exposed. Many Americans – from our children and teachers in crumbling schools, to factory workers and DIY renovators – are at risk of exposure and don’t even know it.
Today, as a mesothelioma widow and President of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) I am appalled — but sadly, not surprised — at an onslaught of industry-serving legislation being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, such as the H.R. 906, the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2017.
This bill threatens the privacy of asbestos victims and their families by listing our names, ages, medical diagnoses, exposure history, and partial social security number in a public database all so asbestos corporations can use the data to make sure they compensate asbestos victims as little as possible.
This is far from the first time we’ve been down this road. ADAO has been fighting attacks on asbestos victims’ civil rights each and every year since our founding in 2004. We’ve seen nearly 20 versions of this shameful legislation aimed solely at limiting our access to justice and denying our ability to hold the asbestos industry accountable for deaths and diseases it has caused.
Breathlessly fighting for truth and justice.
I will never forget holding my daughter as we watched my late husband Alan fight to breathe and die from the mesothelioma that ravaged his lungs. This is an experience no wife, and certainly no young daughter should ever have to go through. As I have learned over the past fourteen years, we are not alone. Thousands of American families are suffering the same fate. And they shouldn’t have to.
Asbestos diseases are preventable. But the asbestos industry refuses to be responsible for the injuries their products and practices have caused. Instead, they have funded multi-million dollar campaigns to deny the facts about asbestos and to evade accountability. Unfortunately for American families, money talks and Congress listens.
The amount of time and energy the 115th Congress is spending on stripping civil rights from asbestos victims is reprehensible. Congress should be focusing on legislation to stop asbestos imports and ensure the EPA can expeditiously ban asbestos, not on providing handouts to the murderous asbestos industry. This proposed legislation aims to protect the businesses whose greed and disregard for the value of human life resulted in deaths of thousands of Americans.
This year, though, it is particularly upsetting as we’re just on the heels of a monumental legislative victory. Last summer’s passage of the Lautenberg Act reforms to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) strengthened the regulatory capacity of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), finally paving the way for the Agency to ban asbestos and other harmful toxic chemicals. These important reforms were the result of years of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations, yet Congress is doing everything in its power to roll back the progress so many worked so hard for.
Our story could become your story.
Each year, as many as 15,000 Americans are killed by an asbestos disease that was preventable. Since the first legislative attack on asbestos victims’ legal rights in 1998, asbestos has killed an estimated 250,000 Americans. Just think of the lives that could have been saved and suffering that could have been spared if Congress focused their time and energy on preventing asbestos diseases instead of limiting accountability.
Efforts to protect public health and our environment should not be controversial, but lawmakers continue to defend the very industry that puts workers and the American public at risk through the ongoing use of asbestos. Corporations that have knowingly and recklessly exposed Americans to a known carcinogen must be held accountable to ensure our country and our families are safe.
Congress should be the voice of the people, not the instrument of the powerful. We must remind Congress that they work for us — asbestos victims included — not the chemical industry.
Asbestos victims have been betrayed time and time again. But enough is enough. Do not allow the House to pass this pathetic legislation. ADAO will be fighting by your side. Together, we will make meaningful change happen, and prevent the rollback of our hard-fought progress. Use your voice and urge your lawmakers to oppose these industry bills.
Our story could become your story.
Linda Reinstein
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