Tuesday, 4 May 2010

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Applauds APHA's Call For Ban On Asbestos, Annual Warnings For Workers In High-Risk Occupations

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) applauds the American Public Health Association (APHA), the largest and most diverse public health organization in the world. APHA adopted a resolution calling on Congress to pass legislation banning the manufacture, sale, export, or import of asbestos containing products including products in which asbestos is a contaminant. Asbestos, a known carcinogen, annually claims the lives of more than 10,000 Americans.

"With this new policy, APHA is joining the World Federation of Public Health Associations and other international organizations calling for a global ban on asbestos mining, and manufacturing, and the dangerous practice of exporting asbestos containing products," said Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH, Chair of APHA's Occupational Health and Safety section. "As the World Health Organization noted in 2006, the most efficient way to eliminate asbestos related diseases is to stop using all types of asbestos."

"ADAO applauds APHA for passage of the landmark Elimination of Asbestos Resolution," said Linda Reinstein, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization. "APHA set a precedent with strong language aimed at preventing asbestos exposure to eliminate deadly diseases. Ambler, Pennsylvania - now a superfund site - is still plagued from asbestos piles left behind from the once profitable asbestos businesses. We can't let history repeat itself - it is time to ban asbestos and fund educational and research programs. APHA renews our optimism that a federal asbestos ban is eminent."

Source
American Public Health Association (APHA)

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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