Cohen Receives 2012 Tribute of Hope Award from Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

MEMPHIS, TN – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) recently received the 2012 Tribute of Hope Award from The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) for his “tireless commitment to asbestos education, advocacy, and support in honor” of his dear friend, Warren Zevon.  Grammy award winning artist Warren Zevon was a victim of Mesothelioma.

“I have long been a supporter of The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and am honored to receive the 2012 Tribute of Hope Award,” said Congressman Cohen.  “We still have a long way to go in the fight against asbestos.  But I am confident that by working with the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and other activists we can win the war against asbestos and help protect our families and communities from asbestos.”

In the 111th Congress, Congressman Cohen authored a Resolution to designate the first week in April as Asbestos Awareness Week.  More than 10,000 Americans die every year from exposure to asbestos and it is projected that over the next decade asbestos diseases will kill at least 100,000 Americans. 

Inhaling or swallowing asbestos fibers can cause permanent and irreversible damage to vital organs.  Diseases caused by Asbestos including asbestosis, lung and gastrointestinal cancers, and Mesothelioma, have a long latency period from initial exposure until development, from 50 years or longer.  They are difficult to diagnose, difficult to treat, and are often incurable and frequently deadly.  The average life expectancy of a Mesothelioma patient is six to twelve months.

Asbestos exposure remains a consumer threat to this day.  Although the United States has reduced asbestos consumption, two thousand metric tons of the fibrous mineral is still consumed in certain products throughout the nation.

Asbestos has been mined and used in a broad range of products, materials, and applications including construction, insulation, shipyards, and many other industries.  In addition, the World Health Organization indicates that there are approximately 125 million people in the world who are exposed to asbestos in the workplace. 

The World Health Organization, International Labor Organization, Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Surgeon General have all agreed that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.

A ban on asbestos would decrease exposure and reduce the number of asbestos related diseases and deaths.  The United States and Canada are the last two industrial nations that have not imposed a ban on asbestos.  More than 50 countries have banned asbestos as of January 2010. 

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