III 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 108 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 15, 2007 Mr. Baucus (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Leahy) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Designating the first week of April 2007 as National Asbestos Awareness Week.

Whereas there is no known safe level of exposure to asbestos; Whereas deadly asbestos fibers are invisible and cannot be smelled or tasted; Whereas when a person inhales or swallows airborne asbestos fibers, the damage is permanent and irreversible; Whereas these fibers can cause mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and pleural diseases; Whereas asbestos-related diseases can take 10 to 50 years to present themselves; Whereas the expected survival rate of individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma is between 6 and 24 months; Whereas little is known about late-stage treatment and there is no cure for asbestos-related diseases; Whereas early detection of asbestos-related diseases would give patients increased treatment options and often improve their prognoses; Whereas asbestos is a toxic and dangerous substance and must be disposed of properly; Whereas, in 1977, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified asbestos as a Category 1 human carcinogen, the highest cancer hazard classification for a substance; Whereas, in 2002, the United States Geological Survey reported that companies in the United States consumed 9,000 metric tons of asbestos, of which approximately 71 percent was consumed in roofing products, 18 percent in gaskets, 5 percent in friction products, and 6 percent in other products; Whereas, in 2006, the World Health Organization issued a policy paper, and the International Labour Organization adopted a resolution, agreeing that all forms of asbestos are classified as human carcinogens, no threshold for safe exposure exists, and the elimination of asbestos use is essential to stop the global epidemic of asbestos-related diseases; Whereas nearly half of the more than 1,000 screened firefighters, police officers, rescue workers, and volunteers who responded to the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, have new and persistent respiratory problems; Whereas the industry groups with the highest incidence rates of asbestos-related diseases, based on 2000 to 2002 figures, were shipyard workers, builders of vehicle bodies (including rail vehicles), pipefitters, carpenters and electricians, construction workers (including insulation and stripping workers), extraction workers, energy and water supply workers, and manufacturing workers; Whereas the United States has substantially reduced its consumption of asbestos, yet continues to consume almost 2,000 metric tons of the fibrous mineral for use in certain products throughout the Nation; Whereas asbestos exposures continue, but attention to safety and prevention has reduced significantly and will continue to reduce asbestos exposures and asbestos-related diseases; Whereas the United States continues to import over $100,000,000 worth of asbestos products annually, such as brake pads and linings, cement pipe, floor tiles, and other asbestos products from other countries for use throughout the Nation; Whereas asbestos-related diseases kill 10,000 people in the United States each year, and the numbers are increasing; Whereas people in the small community of Libby, Montana, have asbestos-related diseases at a rate 40 to 60 times the national average, and suffer from mesothelioma at a rate 100 times the national average; Whereas asbestos exposure is responsible for 1 in every 125 deaths of men over the age of 50; Whereas asbestos has been the largest single cause of occupational cancer; Whereas asbestos is still a hazard for 1,300,000 workers in the United States; Whereas asbestos-related deaths have increased greatly in the last 20 years and are expected to continue to increase; Whereas 30 percent of all victims of asbestos-related diseases were exposed to asbestos on naval ships and in shipyards; Whereas asbestos was used in the construction of virtually all office buildings, public schools, and homes built before 1975; Whereas safety and prevention will reduce asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases; and Whereas the establishment of National Asbestos Awareness Week would raise public awareness about the prevalence of asbestos-related diseases and the dangers of asbestos exposure: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)designates the first week of April 2007 as National Asbestos Awareness Week; (2)urges the Surgeon General, as a public health issue, to warn and educate people that asbestos exposure may be hazardous to their health; and (3)respectfully requests the Secretary of the Senate to transmit a copy of this resolution to the Surgeon General.