Posted on May 28, 2021

Earlier this month over 100 firefighters in Austin, Texas may have been exposed to asbestos while putting out a blazing fire at a city-owned warehouse.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen and when these nearly invisible fibers, undetectable by sight, smell or taste, become airborne, they can be inhaled or ingested and can embed themselves in a person’s lungs or other areas. They can lurk undetected for decades before an illness becomes apparent — including deadly respiratory diseases such as mesothelioma, also known as asbestos cancer, asbestosis and lung cancer. Each year, over 40,000 Americans die from preventable asbestos-caused diseases. 

A 2013 NIOSH Study of firefighters found that “the population of firefighters in the study had a rate of mesothelioma two times greater than the rate in the U.S. population as a whole.” 

As if this wasn’t devastating enough, there is also the chance that their families could be impacted by a deadly hug — when asbestos remains on the clothes or the person and is spread through touch or close personal contact.

In a statement following the fire, CBS reports, an Austin Fire Department (AFD) spokeswoman said, “We’re sending approximately 115 individuals for X-rays as a precautionary measure. Should they develop some sort of medical issue later as a result that needed treatment, establishing a baseline record and paperwork now ensures less red tape later for them to get care, even though it would be covered under the presumptive law regardless.”

We commend the AFD for taking care of their firefighters. However, this exposure never should have happened in the first place.

The irrefutable fact is — asbestos imports and use are deadly. While many industries have stopped using asbestos, we know millions of homes, schools, and buildings nationwide contain legacy asbestos that still threatens public health. 

Natural disasters, like wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, and other extreme weather events that destroy property as well as fires and other types of demolition can release toxic asbestos fibers into the environment. As a result, workers, people returning to their homes after a disaster, first responders, volunteers, and those in the vicinity of these structures are all left potentially exposed, often unknowingly. 

For more than a decade, ADAO and others have urged Congress to ban asbestos imports and use, and the legislation to do that, the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act of 2019, also contained a provision to require a study of legacy asbestos so we know where and how much of it still threatens us all. Unfortunately, the bill never made it to the floor for a vote, and we are fighting for it to be reintroduced and move through Congress anew. 

We can’t wait for Congress to act while innocent Americans, especially our first responders and low-income and communities of color who remain disproportionately at risk from this toxic substance. That is why this month, together, with 11 other organizations and asbestos experts, ADAO filed suit against EPA to ensure that the agency meets its obligation to evaluate the risks of legacy asbestos found in millions of buildings and in consumer products across the United States, as required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 

EPA must do their job and work to mitigate and eliminate asbestos once and for all.  We’ve known for decades it is toxic, deadly and unnecessary. We need to conduct a legacy asbestos study now, and ban asbestos imports and use once and for all. 

Until then, too many people, like those brave firefighters in Austin, remain at risk and in harm’s way. 

Together, let’s make change happen.

Linda Reinstein
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