An awards ceremony will be held during the fifth-annual Asbestos Disease Awareness Day Conference in California on March 27-29, where four very special honorees will receive recognition for their commitment to asbestos-related activities. The conference will be held at the Manhattan Beach Marriot nd is sponsored by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO).
This year’s award winners include Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator, who will receive the Tribute of Hope Award for her dedication to changing asbestos laws. Senator Boxer has long been a supporter of banning asbestos in the U.S. Boxer, who represents the state of California, also works tirelessly on other environmental issues, including stricter regulations for arsenic (also a known carcinogen) in drinking water and supports federal funding for the cleanup of “Brownfields,” or areas of land that are contaminated by one or more toxin.
Also receiving an award at the ADAO conference will be Margaret Seminario of the AFL/CIO, who will be awarded the Tribute of Unity Award for her worldwide efforts to educate and support victims of asbestos. On July 31st of last year, Seminario went before the House of Representatives and demanded federal help for “thousands of brave responders, recovery and clean-up workers and residents who are now sick as a result of exposures to toxins.”
Dr. Stephen Levin, the Head of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, will receive the Dr. Irving Selikoff Lifetime Achievement Award for his many years of asbestos-related research, including a comprehensive study of the effects of asbestos exposure following the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Dr. Irving Selikoff, who passed away at age 77 in 1992, co-discovered the cure for tuberculosis and was instrumental in the passing of asbestos-usage regulations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Two Indian citizens, Pralhad Malvadkar and Raghunath Manwar, will also be honored with a Tribute of Inspiration Award for their support of asbestos victims in their country. India is considered to have an extremely serious asbestos problem but continues to import asbestos materials from Canada, putting thousands of Indian laborers at risk of developing asbestos ailments, including asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer, each year.
Linda Reinstein, Co-Found and Executive Director of the ADAO said that her organization is “honored” to award the above individuals for their commitment to asbestos-related causes.
Asbestos exposure still occurs today, despite the institution of usage laws almost thirty years ago. Those who work in certain industries, including construction, are considered to be at an increased risk of exposure and may be more likely to develop an asbestos-related disease. Of particular concern is the development of mesothelioma, a fatal cancer that has no cure. Because mesothelioma has a latency period of as many as fifty years, individuals who are diagnosed are usually in their late fifties to early seventies, and must face the reality that mesothelioma treatment methods are only a temporary means of controlling symptoms and pain.
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