Monday, 29 March 2010

ADAO Praises Senate For Passage Of Sixth Annual Resolution That Establishes "National Asbestos Awareness Week"

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the largest U.S. organization serving as the voice of asbestos victims, today applauds the United State Senate for the passage of S.RES.427, a resolution that declares the first week of April as "National Asbestos Awareness Week" and urges the Surgeon General to warn and educate Americans of the severe hazards of asbestos exposure.

"We are grateful to the U.S. Senate for unanimously passing S. RES. 427 that will increase public awareness about asbestos, a known human carcinogen," said Linda Reinstein, CEO and Co-Founder, ADAO. "For the past six years, ADAO has seen that a week of awareness enables agencies, institutions and organizations to promote regulatory compliance and enforcement. Americans deserve and want to know how to prevent asbestos in their homes or in the workplace."

Asbestos exposure can cause asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. Studies estimate that during the next decade, 100,000 workers around the world will die of an asbestos related disease - equaling 30 deaths per day.

ADAO will hold its Sixth Annual International Asbestos Conference on April 10, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Honorable Richard Durbin, United States Senator, will receive the ADAO Tribute of Hope Award for his gallant efforts to protect public health and promote worker safety.

Source: Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the heart, the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis.

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or they have been exposed to the dust and fiber in other ways. Washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos can also put a person at risk for developing mesothelioma. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking. Compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma.

The symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss. The diagnosis may be suspected with chest X-ray and CT scan, and is confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic examination. A thoracoscopy (inserting a tube with a camera into the chest) can be used to take biopsies. It allows the introduction of substances such as talc to obliterate the pleural space (called pleurodesis), which prevents more fluid from accumulating and pressing on the lung. Despite treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or sometimes surgery, the disease carries a poor prognosis. Research about screening tests for the early detection of mesothelioma is ongoing.

Wikipedia