Posted on July 17, 2024

  1. Amy J. Bahruth, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
  2. Brent Kynoch, Environmental Information Association
  3. Linda Reinstein, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)
  4. Greg Russell, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
  5. Bob Sussman, JD, Counsel for the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)
  6. James Williams, Jr., American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc

Amy J. Bahruth, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO

  • Asbestos is in aging school buildings across the country. It negatively impacts the health of students, educators, and school staff. At the AFT, we’ve focused on the threat of asbestos.
  • Whether it’s local unions going to court to force critical updates as the United Federation of Teachers did or ceaselessly making the case for more stringent regulations, we are committed achieving comprehensive solutions.

Brent Kynoch, Environmental Information Association

  • Nearly 70 countries have banned asbestos. Sadly, the U.S. is not one of them.
  • 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, Cofounder, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)

  • Over 40,000 Americans die each year from asbestos-caused diseases, including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and cancers of the larynx and ovaries. Asbestos-related diseases are 100% preventable. 
  • Although nearly all U.S. chlor-alkali corporations now support the transition away from asbestos technology, in 2022, OxyChem imported an estimated 300 metric tons of raw asbestos for asbestos diaphragms.  

Greg Russell, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)

  • As asbestos becomes disturbed or damaged by fire or fire suppression activities, deadly fibers become airborne, and firefighters inhale large amounts of these microscopic fibers, increasing their risk of developing a life-altering asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.
  • According to the NIOSH Firefighter study, “Firefighters have a rate of mesothelioma two times greater than the rate in the U.S. population as a whole.

Bob Sussman, JD, Counsel, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)

  • A partial ban on one asbestos fiber is not enough; we need a ban on all fibers and conditions of use. 
  • Exposure to legacy asbestos is an urgent public health concern and we need a comprehensive approach. The Part 2 evaluation doesn’t provide that.

James Williams, Jr., Director, Federal Relations, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc

  • Asbestos has been classified as causing cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the National Toxicology Program (NTP), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 
  • The ACS CAN supports the passage of the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act that will ban all six asbestos fibers – chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite, and the Libby Amphibole (winchite, and richterite) in all conditions of use.