Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute supports a complete ban on products containing asbestos

The original Ban Asbestos Act, drafted in 2001, included a nationally-funded research program for mesothelioma. Specific language for this part of the Act was largely crafted by PHLBI Executive Medical Director,  Robert Cameron, MD.  Six years later, the bill finally got some traction when the U.S. Senate passed it unanimously. 

Unfortunately, modifications to the bill were introduced and only later became public. The revisions ban asbestos-containing materials but ultimately ALLOW ASBESTOS CONTENT UP TO 1% BY WEIGHT.

PHLBI unanimously supports a complete ban on asbestos-containing products and adequate funding for research on asbestos-related diseases. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s draft bill, currently referred to as the “committee print,” is the best vehicle to address a true ban and provide meaningful funding.

PHLBI supports the existing committee print as the most effective, science-based standard for effectively banning asbestos. Asbestos is responsible for the worst occupational health epidemic in our country’s history.

 Go to: www.gopetition.com/petitions/totally-ban-asbestos.html and sign a petition to completely ban asbestos in the United States.

“One life lost to asbestos disease is tragic; hundreds of thousands of lives is unconscionable.”…. Linda Reinstein, Asbestos Awareness Activist, who lost her husband to mesothelioma in 2006.

SIX naturally occuring minerals in the earth are defined as asbestos, including: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite. Inexpensive, flame-resistant, and a great insulator, asbestos was widely used in building construction, naval shipyards, and everyday household products. For example, chrysotile is often present in VINYL FLOOR TILES, ADHESIVES, ROOFING TARS, FIREPROOFING MATERIALS, CAULK, GASKETS, BRAKE PADS AND SHOES, STAGE CURTAINS, FIRE BLANKETS, AND THERMAL PIPE INSULATION. It is still on the market today, and may be present in household items, like older model blow-dryers.

WHY IS IT DANGEROUS?

Asbestos exposure, even for an extremely brief period of time, can cause mesothelioma. If asbestos fibers are inhaled, they can lodge in the lining of the lungs or the heart and cause cancer. If asbestos fibers are ingested, they can lodge in the lining of the abdomen and cause cancer. Symptoms of mesothelioma can take between 10 and fifty years to appear.