ADAO 18th Annual Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference: “Hear Asbestos. Think Prevention.”

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) held its 18th Annual Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference on September 9, 2023 in Washington D.C. and live streamed globally. I attended by listening and watching the conference from my home in Colorado Springs. The convention was packed with panels discussing medicine, prevention, and all things asbestos, and attendees from throughout the world. Linda Reinstein and her ADAO team taped the sessions for those who could not attend but whom are otherwise interested in presentations by those involved in asbestos-related issues.

One of the more exceptional speeches was by the international firefighters about their exposure to asbestos and the increase in Mesothelioma cancers suffered by their members. Greg Russell of the International Association of Fire Fighters stated that this increase in Mesothelioma over the general public was 159% to 200%. He further stated that it was virtually impossible for fire fighters to identify and avoid asbestos in the act of fighting and extinguishing fires.

In my humble opinion, this is a good reason by itself to ban asbestos imports and use, identify asbestos in buildings through mandatory surveys and inspections, develop asbestos training for trade workers, require and enforce good housekeeping practices during renovations and demolition, and at least discuss eliminating the legacy asbestos in buildings such as old warehouses, office buildings, schools, residential apartments, and homes whenever feasible. Although this is just my opinion, I am sure that it is shared by many others.

Oh, the presentation on the World Trade Center by Dr. Jacqueline Moline was fascinating in terms of the information, complex dust analysis, WTC Health Program data (24 confirmed Mesothelioma diagnoses within the cohort to date), and photos. They are tracking 50 different types of cancers within the program. This was all new to me.

Speaking of photos, no one has better asbestos legacy pictures than my friend Tom Laubenthal. His presentation was great. If you have asbestos questions, Tom is a regulatory expert who runs a LinkedIn page of over 16,000 asbestos professionals who often answer questions based on photos or information. Just as a heads up, many of the answers are to suggest material testing. Also, Tony Rich provided an excellent history (including a lot of great photos) as an expert asbestos control professional. I love history and recognize an expert when I see one.

Fernanda Giannasi, of the Brazilian Association of People Exposed to Asbestos, provided an excellent discussion on the history and current issues in Brazil on the use of asbestos and the treatment of Mesothelioma. Prosecutor Sefora Graciana Cerqueira Char (federal labor prosecutor) from Brazil discussed the history and federal labor related issues. Both travelled to the United States to participate in person.

Barry Robson of the Asbestos Disease Foundation of Australia presented by Zoom. Asbestos has been banned for 20 years in Australia (although some imports are getting through from Asia) and they are working on a plan for total removal of asbestos. About 700 Australians die from Mesothelioma per year and seem to be steady instead of decreasing.

Carmen Lima of the Portuguese Protection Association Against Asbestos discussed by Zoom asbestos-related issue in Portugal. Carmen discussed the work being undertaken and the need to develop working groups to prepare a model standard and policy for asbestos removal.

A group attending in person from Italy briefing introduced themselves and discussed the handling of asbestos-related issues in Italy. This includes seamen and lawsuits currently filed by Italians in the United States with the goal of transforming the pain of Mesothelioma into power for the victims.

Of course, my personal highlight was the ADAO honoring me as a co-recipient of the 2023 Alan Reinstein Award arising from my educational outreach efforts and blogs. This award is very personal as it is named after Linda’s husband (and Emily’s dad) who died from Mesothelioma and it means a great deal. I think that my father, who died from Mesothelioma in 1981, would be smiling.

The sessions were very educational and worth the time for those working with these issues. I recommend that you contact Linda if you have an interest in seeing the taped version of the above or other presentations. The presentation of CARD for the Libby exposure and status was interesting and certainly a twist.

Let me know if you have any comments or questions either by leaving a comment or sending me an email at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. Thanks. Marty