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April 28, 2016

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International Workers’ Memorial Day: Asbestos struggle continues

abestos

By Linda Reinstein, Mesothelioma Widow and Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Cofounder

Today, 28 April, we observe International Workers’ Memorial Day to sombrely remember the millions of workers and their families who paid the ultimate price for their jobs.

One of the leading culprits of preventable workplace deaths is exposure to asbestos. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year “more than 107,000 people die from asbestos-related diseases resulting from occupational exposures.” Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma, lung, gastrointestinal, colorectal, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers; as well as non-malignant lung and pleural disorders.

While evidence is clear that there is no safe level of asbestos, exposure to asbestos continues. The WHO also found that approximately “125 million people in the world are exposed to asbestos at the workplace.”

The killer lurks amongst us

The United Kingdom knows the deadly carnage of asbestos all too well. Although asbestos was banned in Britain in 1999, exposure and deaths continue. The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Hidden Killer campaign states, “Asbestos can be found in any building built before the year 2000 (houses, factories, offices, schools, hospitals etc) and causes around 5000 deaths every year.” What’s more is that asbestos fibres can be up to 700 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

The Guardian reported “More than 75% of school buildings contain asbestos and many – mostly the huge number built in the three decades after the second world war – are now coming to the end of their useful lives.

A leader in occupational health and safety, Rory O’Neill, published the Hazard’s March 2016 investigative report, “How the asbestos industry turns to British scientists.” O’Neill wrote “Britain has history on asbestos. It has the highest death rates from asbestos cancers in the world. It is also home to some of the industry’s most relied-upon scientists.”

Prevention is the cure

While research is being done to cure asbestos caused cancers and diseases, prevention remains the only cure.

Britain is not alone. Although asbestos has been banned in over 50 countries, asbestos still remains legal and lethal in several nations including Russia, India, United States and Canada.

A key component of prevention includes regulatory compliance and enforcement. Those who break the laws and endanger workers and their families should be held accountable.

asbestos

Leveraging technology and partnerships

Workers and health and safety professionals are on the frontline of prevention. We know repairs, renovation, construction, and disasters can disturb asbestos products and release fibres into the air, creating a carcinogenic dust, but the average person is unaware of the dangers they face. Most people outside this sector can’t identify asbestos or manage the risks associated with it.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) has developed diverse partnerships to make great strides in our mission to prevent asbestos exposure and eliminate asbestos related diseases. Since the beginning, we have never walked alone. Each partnership we build and nurture maximises our resources: human, financial, and political.

The digital revolution has changed the way the world communicates forever. 43% of the world population has access to the Internet, and the Pew Research Center reported that 90% of American adults have a cell phone and that 65% of adults now use social networking sites – a nearly tenfold jump in the past decade. Social networking platforms allow us to implement global education campaigns and instantaneously engage, educate, collaborate, and advocate efficiently, while effectively communicating our message in a millisecond.

This year, during Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW), ADAO joined forces with the health and safety community to raise asbestos awareness. Again, with the Safety & Health Practitioner and The McOnie Agency we connected and shared educational resources around the world.  The McOnie Agency developed GAAW communications materials that were translated into 21 different languages and were distributed to 44 countries.

This International Workers’ Memorial Day, I urge you to share your knowledge and resources to prevent asbestos exposure as we work to eliminate diseases. As the asbestos struggle continues remember that for each life lost, a shattered family is left behind. In the spirit of Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, “Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living.”

lindareinstein

Linda Reinstein, President/CEO of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organisation (ADAO).

 

 

 

 

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Asbestos Hazards Law Resources | Great Mesotheliom Lawyer
7 years ago

[…] International Workers’ Memorial Day: Asbestos struggle continues – A leader in occupational health and safety, Rory O’Neill, published the Hazard … asbestos exposure and eliminate asbestos related diseases. Since the beginning, we have never walked alone. Each partnership we … […]

trackback
Asbestos O | New Mesotheliom Lawyer
7 years ago

[…] International Workers’ Memorial Day: Asbestos struggle continues – A leader in occupational health and safety, Rory O’Neill, published the Hazard’s March 2016 investigative report, “How the asbestos industry turns to British scientists.” O’Neill wrote “Britain has history on … […]

trackback
Asbestos Health Safety Jobs | Great Mesotheliom Lawyer
7 years ago

[…] International Workers’ Memorial Day: Asbestos struggle continues – Today, 28 April, we observe International Workers’ Memorial Day to sombrely remember the millions of workers and their families who paid the ultimate price for their jobs … Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) … […]