[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1136-S1139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

   SENATE RESOLUTION 43--DESIGNATING THE FIRST DAY OF APRIL 2005 AS 
                  ``NATIONAL ASBESTOS AWARENESS DAY''

  Mr. REID submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                               S. Res. 43

       Whereas deadly asbestos fibers are invisible and cannot be 
     smelled or tasted;
       Whereas when airborne fibers are inhaled or swallowed, 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 those 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 prognosis;
       Whereas asbestos is a toxic and dangerous substance and 
     must be disposed of properly;
       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, vehicle body builders 
     (including rail vehicles), pipefitters, carpenters and 
     electricians, construction (including insulation work and 
     stripping), extraction, energy and water supply, and 
     manufacturing;
       Whereas the United States imports more than 30,000,000 
     pounds of asbestos used in products throughout the Nation;
       Whereas asbestos-related diseases kill 10,000 people in the 
     United States each year, and the numbers are increasing;
       Whereas asbestos exposure is responsible for 1 in every 125 
     deaths of men over the age of 50;
       Whereas safety and prevention will reduce asbestos exposure 
     and asbestos-related diseases;
       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 greatly increased in 
     the last 20 years and are expected to continue to increase;
       Whereas 30 percent of all asbestos-related disease victims 
     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; and
       Whereas the establishment of a ``National Asbestos 
     Awareness Day'' would raise public awareness about the 
     prevalence of asbestos-related diseases and the dangers of 
     asbestos exposure: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate designates the first day of April 
     2005 as ``National Asbestos Awareness Day''.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am submitting a resolution today to 
designate April 1 of this year as ``National Asbestos Awareness Day.''
  I submitted this resolution toward the end of the last Congress and 
the Senate did not have a chance to act on it. I submit it again today 
because strengthening public awareness about the danger of asbestos 
exposure could save thousands of lives.
  Scientists have shown that inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause 
several serious diseases that might not show up for years after 
exposure. These diseases include lung cancer and asbestosis, the 
progressive scarring of the lungs by asbestos fibers causing 
respiratory distress, as well as malignant mesothelioma, a form of 
cancer for which asbestos exposure is the only known cause.
  Over the next decade, more than 100,000 U.S. citizens will die of 
asbestos-related diseases. That is approximately 30 people per day--and 
it means one person will die in the time it takes us to act on this 
resolution.
  Asbestos not only kills thousands of Americans every year. It also 
causes pain and suffering, tears families apart, and adds to the costs 
of our health care system.
  I have been touched by the stories of Americans affected by asbestos-
related diseases.
  Last fall, I received a phone call from my brother, Don, who told me 
that a long-time family friend, Harold Hansen, had died from 
mesothelioma. Harold was a wonderful friend and family man. He hadn't 
worked directly with asbestos in his lifetime, but he had been 
unwittingly exposed--and that exposure took his life.
  Alan Reinstein was diagnosed with mesothelioma on June 16, 2003, and 
soon after underwent radical surgery to remove his entire lung, 
pericardium, diaphragm, and other affected parts of his body. He 
continues to courageously fight this deadly illness, and each day he 
must face the fear that the cancer might return.
  Despite his illness, Alan is a lucky man because he has a loving 
wife, Linda, and family that give him strength. Linda Reinstein 
couldn't sit by and watch her husband suffer, knowing that thousands of 
others had also been afflicted. So she founded the Asbestos Disease 
Awareness Organization to educate the public and the medical community 
about diseases caused by asbestos exposure.
  I have received many letters from Nevadans who have family members 
with asbestos-related diseases. Eleanor Shook, from my home town of 
Searchlight, NV, lost her husband Chuck to mesothelioma. He had been 
repeatedly exposed to asbestos while at work. Two months after his 
diagnosis, he passed away--no cure, no treatment, no reprieve. There is 
a hole in that family where Chuck once stood.
  I also received a letter from Jack Holmes a former school teacher 
from Las Vegas, who wrote: ``I am dying. I have malignant mesothelioma 
. . . I can expect extreme pain and suffering before I die.''
  I also heard from Robert Wright of Henderson, NV, who was exposed to 
asbestos while serving in the United

[[Page S1139]]

States Navy. He now suffers from asbestosis.
  These are just a few of the hundreds of citizens of Nevada that are 
suffering with asbestos-related diseases. Every one of their stories is 
a tragedy and every one of them could have been prevented with greater 
awareness and education.
  Most Americans think asbestos was banned a long time ago. Nothing 
could be further from the truth. New asbestos is used every day to 
insulate water pipes, as insulation, in making ceiling tiles and in 
many other building materials. When the tiny particles are released, 
they are invisible, and can't be smelled or tasted. Once inhaled, the 
particles lodge themselves in the lining of the lungs and remain there, 
causing irreversible damage for up to 50 years before disease sets in.
  A single large dose of asbestos can fill your lungs with enough 
particles to cause disease. Simply walking by a construction site where 
asbestos particles are at a heavy concentration could be enough to give 
you a lethal dose.
  Perhaps the most frightening thing about asbestos is that a person 
can be exposed without knowing it. A New York City police officer told 
me he worked in an undercover sting as a construction worker. The goal 
of the sting was to catch individuals who would improperly dispose of 
asbestos that had been removed from buildings. He told of catching men 
who tried to illegally dump asbestos in a school yard, where children 
would have been exposed to its dangers for years to come.
  This story underscores the importance of raising public awareness 
about the dangers of asbestos exposure.
  Better awareness and education can reduce exposure. For those who 
have been exposed, early detection and screening can increase treatment 
options and improve prognosis.
  Asbestos kills--but asbestos education can save lives.
  Just as victims and their families joined together to raise awareness 
of asbestos-related disease by forming the Asbestos Disease Awareness 
Organization, the Senate can increase awareness of this silent killer 
by declaring April 1, 2005 as Asbestos Awareness Day. I hope all 
senators will join me in this effort.

                          ____________________