Tuesday, August 5, 2008

April 1 is now asbestos awareness day in montgomery, alabama

March 27, 2008, Montgomery, Alabama â€" The first week in April is Asbestos Awareness Week, and now one Mayor in Montgomery, Alabama has taken a step towards increasing local asbestos awareness by declaring April 1 to be Asbestos Awareness Day. On Friday March 28, Mayor Bobby Bright will sign a proclamation that declares April 1 to be Montgomery Asbestos Awareness Day. The proclamation goes hand-in-hand with the Senate’s decision that April 1-7 is now National Asbestos Awareness Week. Around ten thousand Americans die each year from asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis. Any measures that improve awareness both locally and nationwide can be considered important for educating the general public and helping people with asbestos related diseases, and their families. Asbestos was widely used between the 1940s and 1980s due to its strength, durability, and resistance to heat, acid, and chemical degradation. It was a common addition to thousands of different types of construction products used in residential, commercial, public and industrial buildings, and was widely used for many other industrial purposes. Asbestos, when inhaled or otherwise ingested, causes chronic illnesses that are notoriously difficult to treat. Asbestosis, caused by repeated exposure to asbestos, causes considerable pain and breathing difficulty. Mesothelioma, a form of cancer that occurs only as a result of asbestos exposure, has a mortality rate of close to 100%, due to its aggressiveness and high treatment resistance. Public education about asbestos and the diseases it can cause is particularly important because the symptoms of the diseases are non-specific. This means diagnosis is often made too late for treatment to be as effective as it could be. The diseases also have long latency periods, and many people who are seemingly healthy may have already been exposed to enough asbestos to cause disease without being aware of it. National Asbestos Awareness Week kicks off in 2008 with a weekend conference sponsored by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO). The Fourth Annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference includes events designed to increase public awareness about asbestos and related diseases and will be held on Saturday March 29 at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan. Representatives from organizations such as the Center for Asbestos Related Disease, the Karmanos Cancer Institute, the Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers, the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency are scheduled to speak at the conference. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)

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