FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 14, 2023

ADAO & STAKEHOLDERS MEET WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO CALL FOR PASSAGE OF ALAN REINSTEIN BAN ASBESTOS NOW ACT OF 2023

WASHINGTON, DC — Today Linda Reinstein, president and co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Association (ADAO), an independent nonprofit dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure, is joined by Scott Sutton, CEO of Olin Corporation, and a wide coalition of stakeholders urging Congress to pass the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2023. 

Olin Corporation was one of the last remaining users of asbestos in the United States. However, Sutton has written to the EPA, expressing that the company has ceased importing asbestos and is on track to end its use in operations. Olin stopped importing asbestos in February 2021 and is currently in the transition process. Olin’s support for EPA’s regulatory actions and the ARBAN Act positions them as an industry leader.

They will be joined by:

  • Mike Meenam, Director of Global Government Affairs, Olin Corporation
  • Pat Morrison, Chief of Field Services, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
  • Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH, American Public Health Association (APHA)
  • Linda Reinstein, President, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)
  • Greg Russell, Government Relations, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
  • Bob Sussman, JD, Counsel, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)
  • James Williams, Jr., Director, Federal Relations, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc

Quotes from the meeting participants are included below:

Linda Reinstein, Cofounder, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)

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.  

Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act, an amendment to EPA TSCA, will ban the six asbestos fibers – chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite, and the Libby Amphibole (winchite, and richterite) in all conditions of use. 

Scott Sutton, CEO, Olin Corporation

Olin is the Chlor-Alkali industry leader, and the actions that the Chlor-Alkali industry take are the linchpin to ending the use of asbestos in this country. Olin has a clear path to end the use of asbestos, and we need a couple other industry participants to choose the same path. As only seven percent of the chlorine produced in this country is used for water and wastewater treatment, the asbestos exit path won’t impact that supply to water uses nor even reduce the total supply of chlorine. It is time to end the use of asbestos now.

Pat Morrison, Chief of Field Services, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)

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.”

Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH, American Public Health Association (APHA)

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. To do so, lawmakers must act to prohibit the import and use of all asbestos. 

APHA adopted a policy statement in 2019 urging Congress to ban the importation, manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of asbestos and asbestos-containing products. The U.S. must catch up to the 70 countries that have already banned it.

Greg Russell, Government Relations, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)

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

With leadership from Olin, we have the opportunity to end asbestos imports by chlor-alkali producers as soon as an asbestos ban is put in place. Stopping imports by this industry and assuring a near-term transition to non-asbestos technology by this one remaining asbestos-using industry in the U.S. would be a landmark step.

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). 

ACS CAN supports the passage of the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2023 to protect individuals from exposure to asbestos, a known cancer-causing agent.

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About the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is a global leader in combining education, advocacy, and community initiatives to prevent and end asbestos exposure. ADAO seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos and advocate for an asbestos ban. ADAO, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, does not make legal referrals.

For more information, visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.