Posted on May 28, 2021
Nearly 17 years ago, I watched my husband take his last breath in his battle against mesothelioma, a preventable disease caused by asbestos exposure. Since then, I have made it my goal to try and stop other families from feeling the same pain as mine has. Through a multi-prong legal, legislative, and community-based strategy, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) raises awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and works to ban asbestos in all forms. 
Asbestos is a known carcinogen that kills over 40,000 Americans each year. Asbestos has an especially deadly impact on communities of color, who bear the brunt of the toxins deadly impact. Nearly 70 countries around the world have banned asbestos, yet it remains legal and lethal in the United States. Legacy asbestos exists in millions of schools, homes, and buildings, as well as in our air, soil, and water. Asbestos furthers America’s environmental racism, as asbestos caused illnesses affect low-income communities and communities of color more than high-income, middle-class or white communities.
In particular, asbestos contributes to environmental racism across the nation, because it has a disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on communities or color, both through work exposure and exposure to legacy asbestos. Communities of color are more likely to live in houses that contain asbestos, attend schools and workplaces that were built using asbestos, or work in industries with high exposure and cancer risks.
All this to say: It is past time to rid the United States of asbestos.
Two years ago in March, Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Suzanne Bonamici introduced the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act of 2019.
Hopes were high that ARBAN, the most comprehensive asbestos ban bill put before Congress is over 30 years, would be passed and: (1) ban the importation and commercial use of asbestos and asbestos-containing products within one year of enactment; (2) require chlor-alkali plants to eliminate the use of asbestos and convert to non-asbestos technology; (3) establish a Right-to-Know program for current importers, processors and distributors; and (4) study legacy asbestos.
There was strong bipartisan support for the bill in November 2019, when the bill was voted out of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) with a vote of 47-1.
We made incredible progress over the course of 2019 and 2020, even as COVID-19 took center stage and most of Congress’ attention. ARBAN was scheduled for a vote on the suspension calendar for September 29, 2020 — a legislative tactic to pass bills that have wide support. However, due to political wrangling about the asbestos definition used in the bill and a September 2020 amendment, it was removed from the calendar without a vote.
To this day, hundreds of thousands of families who have been affected by asbestos-related illnesses are waiting for action against asbestos in our country. ARBAN had the overwhelming bipartisan support of nearly 70 Congressional Members, and was poised to rid our nation of asbestos, but now we are at a standstill. Meanwhile, innocent people are still exposed every day.
We remain grateful to Chairman Pallone, Representative Bonamici, and Senator Merkley for the endless hours they continue to dedicate to this important legislative effort to protect their constituents, especially those who are exposed unfairly, or through their dedication to their communities.
Increased Danger for Firefighters and Teachers
The other groups of people most likely to be exposed to asbestos are those who are educating our children, saving our lives, and protecting us during emergencies. According to North Carolina Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal Mike Causey, “firefighters and first responders are at greater risk of getting cancer as a result of their dangerous jobs.” Just this month, over 100 firefighters were exposed to asbestos in Austin, Texas, just for doing their jobs. For the next 50 years, they will be left with the fear and trauma of not knowing if they contracted a deadly disease.
Asbestos exposure is one of the leading causes of cancer for firefighters and other first responders. Firefighters are twice as likely to die of mesothelioma as the general population. If firefighters enter a building with legacy asbestos, they are at risk of inhaling the extremely cancerous fibers. Legacy asbestos is any asbestos that was used in either the construction of buildings or the manufacture and use of products, machinery, and equipment, and is now in place in homes, factories and other structures. For example, legacy uses include asbestos-containing insulation or spray and lead pipes that were put in place during the past century and before asbestos was recognized as a health hazard.
In many cases, it is not clear whether or not asbestos is a threat in these situations. It has been decades since there has been a comprehensive nationwide study of where these fibers lurk and we continue to put our first responders at risk without this vital information. Furthermore, because most symptoms of an asbestos-caused illness do not appear for 10-50 years, these dangers are hidden for years from those who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe.
Other workers at a high risk of occupational cancer include construction workers, plumbers, teachers, and veterans. As President Biden noted in his first press conference, far too many American schools are riddled with asbestos, which puts both teachers and students at risk of exposure.
Without a Ban, Asbestos Imports and Use Continue to Put Americans At Risk
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that 300 metric tons of raw chrysotile asbestos was imported in 2020 for the primary user, the Chlor-Alkali industry. That is a horrific increase of nearly 30 percent from 2019. Workers who come in contact with asbestos along with their families and Americans who live in the path of asbestos imports and use are all at risk. This is a human rights violation, an unnecessary danger to Americans, and highlights why we need a commercial ban on asbestos.
The facts are irrefutable. We know all six asbestos fiber types are carcinogenic. We know that there is no safe or controlled level of asbestos exposure. And we know that management methods to reduce exposure are ineffective and continue to endanger public health.
ADAO and other ARBAN stakeholders urge Congress to pass ARBAN during this Congressional period. The human cost of their inaction is too high of a price to pay.
Linda Reinstein
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