A joint declaration has been created between the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and the Canadian Voices of Asbestos Victims that calls on the Unites States and Canada to take significant steps to eliminate asbestos-related disease.
The declaration, which will be presented to President Obama and Prime Minister Harper in February 2012, states that more than 10,000 Americans and 1,000 Canadians die every year of asbestos-related diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Despite these numbers, the U.S. and Canadian governments allow the use of the deadly mineral in some products and Canada still mines and exports it.
U.S. Geological statistics confirm that the United States imported an estimated 820 metric tons of asbestos in the first 7 months of 2010, and approximately 90% of that came from Canada.
Linda Reinstein, co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization said in a press release, “It is truly unbelievable that the Unites States Continues to defy decades of science confirming asbestos is a human carcinogen.”
Reinstein pointed out that as the holidays approach, families in the estimated 35 million homes in America with asbestos tainted insulation will be crawling around in their attics.
We can hope that perhaps this time our leaders will take notice of the devastating effects this deadly mineral has on our citizens.
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – mesothelioma attorneys