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June 14, 2002
Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator,
I am writing to you requesting your strong and urgent support
for a bill about to be introduced into the Senate by Senator
Patty Murray from Washington. This bill has been named
"The Asbestos-Containing Products Risk Reduction Act of
2002." This bill seeks to update the Toxic Substances
Control Act of 1976 and address long-standing issues with
regard to asbestos. As I'm sure you are aware, many
Californians from San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and
virtually every community have been exposed to this deadly
substance through its use by the United States Navy and
asbestos manufacturers (such as Johns Manville) and through
its use in shipyards, the construction and automotive
industries, as well as in many other arenas throughout
California. All forms of asbestos have been shown to cause
diseases such as asbestosis (a chronic and deadly disease of
the lung), lung cancer, and the particularly deadly cancer of
the lining of the chest cavity called
"mesothelioma." This currently
incurable tumor claimed the life of Representative Bruce
Vento (Minnesota) only a short time ago on October 10, 2000
and continues to kill approximately 3000-4000 Americans every
year. The issues surrounding asbestos have recently surfaced
primarily because of the World Trade Center Attack of
September 11, 2001 as well as new evidence from asbestos
mining in Libby, Montana.
Briefly, the provisions of the bill create a Blue Ribbon
Panel to investigate the use of all durable fibers and their
toxic effects. Specifically, directives to establish uniform
methods of detecting and measuring asbestos as well as to
determine a safe standard for exposure are included. Other
important topics that are addressed by the bill include
public education and research.
I am particularly interested in addressing the research
issues. I am an associate professor in the Department of
Surgery at UCLA School of Medicine and at the West Los
Angeles VA Medical Center, and I have been involved in both
the care of patients with mesothelioma as well as research on
this deadly disease for over 10 years. Like me, a few
dedicated scientists have been working in this area for years
without much support from the NIH as well as other
money-granting agencies. In 1999, I helped found (am I
continue to serve as a Director of) the Mesothelioma Applied
Research Foundation (MARF) now headquartered in Santa
Barbara, California in an attempt to change the feeling of
hopelessness that envelopes everyone who deals with this
disease, including the patients themselves. Through MARF we
have made progress in directing private money (most coming
from mesothelioma patients, themselves) to promising areas of
research. Furthermore, last year I proposed a National
Mesothelioma Registry to fill the void of information about
this disease (since the NIH and other government and private
agencies do not monitor mesothelioma), and this year with the
generous help of MARF this registry was finally established
but with only enough funding for 1 year. This is the first
such registry in this country and the only one of its kind in
the world. I have also been involved in testing a promising
new toxin that is able to destroy mesothelioma cancer cells
with the deadly efficiency that our armed forces demonstrated
in Afghanistan and Iraq. This drug, however, has yet to be
used in treating patients due to a paucity of funding.
The Asbestos-Containing Products Risk Reduction Act of 2002
addresses these as well as other problems. It provides for 4
years of funding for a National Mesothelioma Registry.
Obviously, since UCLA has the only established mesothelioma
registry, I believe that stronger language should be
introduced into the bill to specify that the center of the
National Mesothelioma Registry at be UCLA where such a
registry has already been established. In addition, for ease
of monitoring and to assure that all data collection and
monitoring are uniform, all administrative and financial
support for the Registry should flow through UCLA. A specific
level of funding for this important project should be
included, which in my opinion from talking with Registries of
other diseases (bone marrow transplant registry, etc.) should
be on the order of $1.4 million/year. This would be used to
support operations at the 7 mesothelioma centers as well as
possibly at other major centers across the country. With this
funding, the current Registry could be expanded as a priority
to include patient internet access and more information
regarding quality of life which is an important factor in
making treatment decisions in this disease. Personnel also
then could be hired to analyze and publish widely the
findings of the Registry. The remaining $2.1 million
appropriations proposed in the current version of the bill
should be equally divided among the 7 mesothelioma centers to
be used for additional research programs at each institution.
In summary, UCLA has been a leader in the area of
mesothelioma research and, in specifically, in the area of a
National Mesothelioma Registry. UCLA also has worked closely
with MARF to build a national and even an international
collaborative group to further mesothelioma and asbestos
research. This expertise should be recognized and aided as
much as possible. The Asbestos-Containing Products Risk
Reduction Act of 2002 can provide such assistance. I hope
that you will support California's efforts in this war on
asbestos-related diseases and support the above bill and my
proposed modifications.
I would be happy to meet with you to further explain our
program or clarify any issues if it would help in this
endeavor.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Cameron, M.D.
Director, General Thoracic Surgery
Director, Thoracic Oncology
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