Earth Day, celebrated April 22nd, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson helped establish the first Earth Day as an environmental teach-in in 1970 in response to growing environmental concerns of the time.
In the decades following World War II, a vast array of chemicals and other toxic substances were introduced into the manufacturing and construction sectors on an unprecedented scale. Many of the health risks associated with these toxins remained unknown to the general public and often hidden from workers. However, by the late 1960s, some visible signs of pollution began to manifest themselves: polluted rivers, streams, and unclean air began to alarm average Americans.
A groundswell of concern about the environment led to the first observance of Earth Day on April 22, 1970. The goal of the demonstrators was to establish a healthy, sustainable environment.
Twenty million demonstrators and thousands of schools and local communities participated in that first event. Senator Nelson directly credited the first Earth Day with persuading U.S. politicians that environmental legislation had a substantial, lasting constituency. Many important laws were passed by Congress in the wake of the 1970 Earth Day, including the Clean Air Act, the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
One of the first toxic substances to be regulated by both OSHA and the EPA was asbestos. While a natural mineral, asbestos is also a deadly substance which gained widespread use in the 20th Century as an ingredient in thousands of different construction products and everyday household items. Most people working with the “magic mineral”, as asbestos was commonly called, had no idea of its potential danger. Many companies and manufacturers did know, however, and failed to inform and protect workers, their families and the public.
With the creation of the EPA and OSHA, great progress was made to protect workers and the public from the hazards of asbestos. However, because asbestos was such a common construction material it still poses a very real health hazard even in 2009 in existing buildings, homes and sadly as recent studies have shown – even in modern children’s toys and other household items which have still been sold in recent years. The attacks of 9/11 and the destruction of the twin towers also unleashed massive amounts of asbestos dust which showered down from the buildings onto rescue workers and residents of Manhattan. The full magnitude of the harm caused by those attacks may not be known for decades.
The cancers caused by asbestos, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, may not develop until 15 to 50 years after an individual is exposed to asbestos. Therefore, even with the protections established by OSHA and the EPA, Americans will continue to develop asbestos related diseases for decades. An estimated 2,500 to 3000 Americans develop mesothelioma every year.
Despite the creation of the EPA, OSHA and other state and federal asbestos regulations, you may be shocked to learn that asbestos has yet to be banned in the United States. Congress can and should pass legislation to ban asbestos-containing products and fund educational and research programs.
So, on this Earth Day, take a moment to continue the march towards a safer environment and to help fellow Americans suffering from asbestos disease. Ways you can help right now:
• Make a donation to the International Mesothelioma Program, www.impmeso.org – a research group at Brigham & Women’s in Boston that is on the forefront of research to find a cure for mesothelioma.
• Help asbestos victims and raise awareness of still existing asbestos health concerns by supporting the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization at www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org
• Let your Congressman and legislators know you support an outright ban on asbestos-containing products in the United States. See www.banasbestos.us for ways you can help.
Tremendous strides have been made over the last four decades to improve our air, water and workplace hazards, but much work remains to be done. Challenge yourself to get involved.
DuBose Law Firm, PLLC represents mesothelioma victims that have been exposed to asbestos. Dallas mesothelioma lawyer, Ben DuBose, has also fought for a better environment by opposing recent attempts to weaken asbestos abatement standards.
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