John Kerry, among others, Supports the Ban Asbestos Act
We all know John Kerry supports Barack Obama for president, a troop withdrawal and universal health care but what you may not know is he has cosponsored a bill to get rid of asbestos, for good. He is joined by Senators Barbara Boxer, Max Baucus, Hillary Clinton, Dianne Feinstein and Harry Reid. Groups supporting the bill include the AFL-FIO, The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization the New York Committeee for Occupational Safety and the Health and White Lung Association–among others. The leader behind the movement is Patty Murray.
The use of asbestos in products and the manufacturing industry could come to a close in 2009 if Senator Patty Murray from Washington has her way. She has introduced the “Ban Asbestos in America Act” that has been passed by the full U.S. Senate. However, the bill does contain a harmful pro-industry amendment eliminating coverage for workers exposed to products containing 1 percent or less of asbestos. The Communications Workers of America and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations will work to have this language omitted in the final Senate-House legislation. This legislation will also authorize additional studies to determine which commercial products today still contain asbestos, increase funding for asbestos-related diseases, and call for a national mesothelioma registry to help public health professionals track this deadly disease.
Asbestos is now known as one of the great industrial disasters of the 20th century, and it was not until the 1970s that legislation began isolating the problem. It’s now 30 years later and you’ll notice that asbestos exposure, along with the deadly cancer called mesothelioma that can result from it, is still lingering with no signs of going away.
So what happened? In short, asbestos was not exactly banned, it was restricted. While these measures paid dividends in a number of ways, they did not magically remove asbestos from older homes and buildings, which can become a problem when remodeling. So the question remains; when are we going to get to the point where asbestos exposure is no longer a dark, lingering issue?
Congresswoman Betty McCollum is doing her part and has introduced the “Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008.”
On McCollum’s website she says, “It’s long past time that our country banned asbestos. “After decades of widespread and unknowing exposure to this deadly substance, Americans should be able to rest assured that they are no longer at risk of having their lives cut short by asbestos exposure.”
This legislation is not expected to be passed by the full House during 2008, so this effort is basically groundwork in order to get the bill passed in 2009. The major motivator behind these bills is that asbestos exposure can cause serious lung conditions and deadly cancers such as pleural mesothelioma.
Asbestos exposure has been a problem for many years and as noted there are some in congress who are attempting to do their best to eliminate the life threatening insulator for good. And yes, just for clarification, a democratic congress alongside a Barack Obama as president would help the following legislation to pass.
