Posted on March 1, 2022

This year marks ADAO’s 18th anniversary as one of the leading public health organizations for asbestos education and prevention in the world! While we are grateful for the landmark steps taken in the last 18 years, there have also been many roadblocks in the fight towards a ban on asbestos, and today, the overall sentiment is bittersweet. The ADAO team is used to roadblocks and temporary setbacks—over the last two decades, we have faced many. The bitter part about roadblocks is not the need to regroup and strategize, but rather, the time and lives lost. Every delay represents a host of additional lives affected by asbestos exposure and deadly asbestos-related diseases. Despite ADAO’s legal wins in recent years, asbestos imports and use continue, often unbeknownst to the average American consumer. While many may think it a thing of the past, asbestos is still a danger to American lives. 

It’s About People — Not Corporate Profits

As importation and use continues, more and more people are exposed to asbestos every day. Many people who have been exposed and contracted asbestos-related diseases spend their final years fighting for a ban, because once they learn of their fate, they want to make sure no one else suffers one similar. Take Michael, who was just 30 years old when he died from asbestos-caused cancer. He lost 150 pounds, went through surgery, chemo, and two clinical trials. Despite all this, he traveled to Washington, D.C. to look Congressional members in the eye during staff briefings and tell them the truth: “Asbestos is evil.” 

“I live in pain,” Michael said before his death. “I go through treatments that make me feel incredibly bad. I have to watch what I eat or I’ll get sick. And worst of all; I have cancer. Asbestos has done more than change my life both mentally and physically.”

There’s Annamarie, who endured numerous procedures, was hospitalized half a dozen times and had eight rounds of chemotherapy. 

“In October 2014 while vacationing in Hawaii with my family, I was unable to walk 5 steps without having to stop to catch my breath. Upon returning home and having several tests, I found out that I had a rare cancer called mesothelioma,” Annamarie said. “It is hard enough to hear the word cancer and then find out that your cancer was caused by asbestos. I will not stop fighting or advocating until a cure is found for this horrible disease.” Annamarie died in 2020 before a ban was placed, but after sharing her story and advocacy efforts to Congress and at our conferences. 

Consider Mike, who at just 38 years old, left behind a young daughter, a widow, and a legacy of desperate efforts to get Congress to finally ban asbestos. He was only 29 years old when diagnosed. He had contracted mesothelioma after second-hand asbestos exposure. It has been scientifically proven that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.

And there’s Paul, who teamed up with his wife to spend his final years advocating for the U.S. to stop asbestos poisoning, to improve medical treatments, and to protect the rights of patients and victims’ families.

“My illness has affected my entire family and my outlook on life. I savor every moment with my friends and loved ones, and every opportunity to do something good in the world. I work to stay educated on the disease and positive in my attitude,” said Paul before his death. “My wife and I remain active in advocacy to stop asbestos poisoning, to improve medical treatments, and to protect the rights of patients and victims’ families. This life has chosen me, and there is no going back.”

ADAO was co-founded by Doug Larkin, who lost his father-in-law, Bill Shields, to mesothelioma. Bill worked in a shipyard when he was young and was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2004. Just eight months later, Bill lost his fight to the deadly cancer. ADAO’s board is graced by Bill’s step-daughter, Kim, who carries on Bill’s fight for an asbestos ban now that Bill is gone. 

My husband, Alan, for whom the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act was graciously named after, is one of the hundreds of thousands of people we lost to mesothelioma. In order to stay alive, he underwent multiple surgeries and chemotherapy, including the radical Extra-pleural Pneumonectomy (EPP) — a surgical procedure that removed Alan’s rib, left lung, pericardium, and removed and replaced his diaphragm. This was all to have a few more fleeting moments with his family — myself and his daughter, who at the time was just 10 years old. 

More time is something everyone diagnosed with an asbestos-caused disease is desperate for. There is no cure for mesothelioma, and the latency period can be 10-50 years, meaning diagnoses frequently come out of the blue, upturning lives and leaving devastation in their wake. 

We miss these Meso Warriors deeply, and constantly think of the holes left behind in their families as well.. But each of them, and many more, spent their final years speaking out in support of an asbestos ban. Yet year after year, Congress fails to take the necessary steps forward. They are no longer here to share their stories, and so ADAO will continue to do it for them. They spoke out for an asbestos ban, and we hold firm that an all-out ban is the only way to stop these preventable asbestos exposures and deaths.

One of the most striking facts ADAO often shares with lawmakers is that 40,000 Americans die each year due to asbestos-caused diseases.. ARBAN has had support on both sides of the aisle before; protecting public health is something that everyone can agree on. 

How to Help

We need you to sign the petition: Ban Asbestos in the US Now, Without Loopholes or Exemptions. It is beyond clear that we need to continue to urge Congress that this bill is not only necessary, but supported by the American people. Right now, members of Congress are listening to the powerful chlor-alkali industry, but they need to listen to their constituents. If you add your voice to the thousands of others, Congress has no other choice but to hear us and get this bill into action to honor the legacy of the Meso Warriors who worked so hard towards an asbestos ban.

Linda Reinstein