17th Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Congressional Staff Briefing Resources (August 2022) 

2022 Recorded Briefing Video

Posted August 17, 2022

Barry Castleman, ScD, Environmental Consultant 

  1. Asbestos exposure causes mesothelioma, lung, ovarian and laryngeal cancer, asbestosis and other pleural diseases.
  2. In 2020, an estimated 300 metric tons of raw asbestos was imported from Russia and Brazil for the chlor-alkali industry, the sole user of raw asbestos. 

Raja Flores, MD, Chair of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

  1. Members of Congress can do more with a pen than I can with a scalpel.
  2. World Trade Center Health Program Facts:
    1. 70,000 workers have chronic conditions
    2. 10-15 new cancers a week

Arthur L. Frank, MD, PhD, 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

  1. The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) (Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Title II) “defines asbestos as the asbestiform varieties of: chrysotile (serpentine); crocidolite (riebeckite); amosite (cummingtonite/grunerite); anthophyllite; tremolite; and actinolite.” and is what is considered by scientists around the world to be “asbestos”.  
  2. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos, a known carcinogen, and it becomes dangerous when the microscopic asbestos fibers become dislodged and airborne.

Brent Kynoch, Managing Director, Environmental Information Association

  1. Nearly 70 countries have banned asbestos. Sadly, the U.S. is not one of them
  2. Legacy asbestos still resides in homes, schools, workplaces, and the environment. Without a ban, the “legacy” of exposure, disease, and death will continue unabated.

Linda Reinstein, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

  1. Each year, over 40,000 Americans die from preventable asbestos-caused diseases.
  2. EPA found unreasonable risks to workers for chlor-alkali diaphragms, sheet gaskets, brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes/linings, other vehicle friction products.
  3. It’s time to protect Americans from all six asbestos fibers and all uses by passing the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act.

Greg Russell, Government Relations for the International Association of Fire Fighters 

  1. According to the NIOSH Firefighter study, “Fire fighters have a rate of mesothelioma two times greater than the rate in the U.S. population as a whole.”
  2. When asbestos becomes airborne when disturbed or damaged by fire, fire fighters can inhale large amounts of these microscopic fibers, increasing their risk of developing an asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

Bob Sussman, Former EPA Deputy Administrator, Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, and ADAO Counsel

  1. The chlor-alkali industry is stonewalling on an asbestos ban even though the producers are rapidly shutting down asbestos-based capacity and transitioning to non-asbestos technology. 
  2. EPA’s TSCA risk management process may not result in a complete asbestos ban and could be tied up in litigation. We can’t count on EPA to fully ban asbestos and Congress must get the job done.