Asbestos: Still Not Safe, Still Not Banned

Yesterday we talked about dropping asbestos as the California state rock, largely a symbolic gesture meant to save face. Today, let's talk about something more important: saving lives.

Asbestos is estimated to contribute annually to the death of 10,000 Americans and over 100,000 people worldwide. And yet, the U.S. has never banned the sale of asbestos products. By their own admission, asbestos companies estimate that almost twice as many Americans died from exposure to asbestos while working in shipyards during World War II than fighting in combat during the war.

We've known that asbestos causes disease since the early 1900's. We've known it causes malignant mesothelioma since the 1940's. We've always known there is no safe level of exposure.  But even today, asbestos continues to be sold commercially in over 3000 known products including brakes, roofing shingles, ceiling tiles, chalkboards, adhesives, potting soils and fireproofing.

Over 40 countries worldwide have banned asbestos. Every international scientific group who has studied the question has condemned asbestos as a human carcinogen. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attempted to ban asbestos in 1989, but it was stymied by the courts a few years later. The time is long overdue for the U.S. Congress to ban this deadly dangerous fiber.

Fortunately, there is a bill before Congress - “The Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008" -- that would finally ban asbestos in consumer products. The bill would also for the first time provide meaningful funding for research on new treatments for asbestos cancer. Although about $100 billion has been consumed by asbestos litigation, virtually nothing has been invested in preventing or treating mesothelioma, the deadliest form of asbestos cancer.

The Law Office of Roger G. Worthington has been a vocal and ardent supporter of federal legislation banning asbestos since the first bill was drafted by Senator Patty Murray in 2002. The firm supports the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (www.AsbestosDiseaseAwareness.org), an advocacy group which has spearheaded recent efforts to ban asbestos.

The firm also supports the efforts of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (www.curemeso.org), which Roger Worthington helped found in 1999. MARF was the first organization to propose a national mesothelioma research and treatment program. When Congressman Vento was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2000, Worthington asked him to join MARF to help raise awareness for the need to fund research for the long neglected orphan disease. Vento quickly agreed, saying "I can’t understand why, in this great country after knowing about this cancer for so long and spending so many billions on litigation, we haven't ever really tried to defeat the common enemy. Somebody needs to stand up and advocate for us."

So, today as the peloton rolls from Davis to Santa Rosa, Roger Worthington, P.C. gives thanks to the volunteers, doctors, advocates, lawyers and patients who have been fighting to ban asbestos and generate cancer research funding. Mr. Worthington wants to give a special shout out to The Lance Armstrong Foundation, which in 1999 generously provided him with the by laws and articles he used to establish MARF, the first and only non-profit foundation that has invested nearly $10 million in peer-reviewed mesothelioma research grants.

Although progress has been made, Congress has yet to vote on the Vento bill. Please encourage California Senators Boxer and Feinstein, as well as your congressperson, to take action on the Vento Bill. Please visit www.banasbestos.us where you can register your support of the asbestos ban. Enjoy the race and continue the fight to protect our lungs from toxic dusts and chemicals.

As Floyd Landis says, "Asbestos will never be safe. It's always been dangerous and always will be. So what's Congress waiting for? Ban it now and put an end to this travesty."