The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an independent non-profit dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure, announced the launch of the 15th Annual ‘Global Asbestos Awareness Week, from April 1-7, 2019.
The campaign is dedicated to awareness and prevention, with each day featuring educational resources from organizations, guest blogs, videos, and asbestos victims’ stories. The week culminates on April 7th with an online, worldwide candlelight vigil.
Building on strength and collaboration, this year’s Global Asbestos Awareness Week will focus on, banning the mining, manufacturing, and use of asbestos; preventing asbestos exposure; increasing compliance and enforcement of existing laws and regulations; and strengthening international partnerships.
This year GAAW will once again feature the 30-second animated public service announcement (PSA) video: “Asbestos: The Killer You Can’t See,” that captures the tragic reality about deadly asbestos. Through hand-drawn animation by Chocolate Moose Media (CMM), the PSA reveals how a young girl loses her father to asbestos, highlighting the insidious and nearly invisible fibers. In addition to English, the PSA is available in five other languages— Russian, Hindi, Portuguese, French, and Spanish — in order to reach new populations, especially in nations who continue to mine, use, and export asbestos. It is also available in a mobile-friendly format.
Linda Reinstein, mesothelioma widow and ADAO Co-founder, said: “The simple truth is asbestos kills and prevention remains the only cure. Asbestos-caused diseases like mesothelioma can take years, even decades, to kill, but the hidden risk of asbestos fibers only takes a few heartbeats to tell.”
Asbestos is a known carcinogen and there is no safe level of exposure. Since the 19th century, asbestos was widely used in construction, shipbuilding, and the automotive industry. Without a ban, asbestos remains legal and lethal. Nearly 200,000 people die each year from preventable asbestos-caused diseases.
Since its founding in 2004, ADAO has worked with the U.S. Senate to unanimously pass 15 Asbestos Awareness Week Resolutions and secured five U.S. Surgeon General asbestos warnings in an effort to prevent exposure, to help eliminate deadly asbestos-caused diseases.
