For the sixth year in a row, Senator Baucus of Montana proposed legislation designating the first week of April as National Asbestos Awareness Week. Baucus continues to introduce the resolution to honor the nearly 300 people who died in Libby, Montana from mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
Libby, Montana is the site of the W.R. Grace mine and mill that shut down in 1990 and is blamed for widespread contamination from asbestos exposure. Asbestos is a known carcinogen and is proven to cause lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, a serious cancer caused by breathing in the asbestos fibers that then become lodged in the thin membrane that lines and encases the lungs. Often called “asbestos cancer,” mesothelioma is highly aggressive and is resistant to many cancer treatments.
Senate resolution 389 urges the Surgeon General to warn and educate people about the public health hazard of asbestos exposure. The resolution cites the facts that asbestos is a known cause of occupational cancer; thousands of workers in the U.S. face significant asbestos exposure; and a significant percentage of all asbestos-related disease victims were exposed to asbestos on naval ships and in shipyards.
“Although we can never fully right the outrageous wrong that took place in Libby, we can fight to make sure the community has the tools it needs to heal. And, we can keep working hard to make sure the public is aware of the tragic impact of asbestos exposure,” said Baucus in a press release announcing the passage of the resolution.
Baucus was instrumental in urging the EPA to declare its first ever public health emergency in Libby, Montana. The declaration requires the federal government to offer screenings and health care for Libby residents as well as authorizing cleanup work in homes and other structures.
The resolution points out that the expected survival of people diagnosed with mesothelioma varies from 6 to 24 months. Most often diagnoses are not made until symptoms appear and the disease has progressed to an advanced stage leaving the patient with life-threatening complications. Early detection of asbestos-related disease may give some patients additional treatment options.
About 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States.
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