The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is still working towards a ban on asbestos. In early June, letters were sent to the United States Senate, House of Representatives, Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works (EPW), and the House Committee on Energy & Commerce (E&C) urging representatives to sponsor the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act.
The ADAO states that “ARBAN would require the industries importing and using asbestos to transition to non-asbestos technology.”
Many Americans believe asbestos has already been banned, but it currently remains legal in the United States. It is estimated that 40,000 Americans die from asbestos-caused diseases every year.
Organizations that endorse ARBAN are: American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, American Public Health Association, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Center for Environmental Health, Collegium Ramazzini, ConnectiCOSH, Environmental Information Association, Environmental Working Group, GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, International Association of Firefighters, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, Natural Resources Defense Council, Occupational Knowledge International, PHILAPOSH, Rutgers School of Public Health, Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, SafeWork Washington, Toxic-Free Future, and United Mine Workers of America.
