On Friday, April 3, President and CEO of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) Linda Reinstein hosted a virtual luncheon with Dr. Arthur Frank, MD, PhD, who is ADAO’s Science Advisory Board Co-Chair. The topic of discussion was COVID-19 and the unique health risks facing Americans who have battled—or are currently battling—through an asbestos-related disease. ADAO’s luncheon took place during Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW) and what would’ve been the first day of ADAO’s 16th annual International Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference, had the event not been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak (the conference had been scheduled to run…

As this year’s Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW) comes to a close, we want to take a moment to reflect on a cornerstone of the asbestos-disease awareness and prevention efforts and our ongoing commitment to eliminating the toll asbestos takes on society: Advocacy. At the heart of GAAW is a desire to fight—for ourselves, our loved ones, our communities, our country and our world. The fight for a better, safer world is why President and CEO Linda Reinstein co-founded the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO). It’s why Chairman John Simmons started Simmons Hanly Conroy in 1999. It’s why unified advocacy…

For 15 straight years, April 1 through April 7 has been congressionally designated Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW). Each year, the first full week of April marks a crucial time when advocates, scientists, doctors, survivors and their families can all join together as one group to share new knowledge, provide community and support, and plan future goals and actions. While GAAW will continue as planned this year, the accompanying annual International Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference, hosted by the Asbestos Awareness Disease Organization (ADAO) in Washington D.C., has been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In a statement, ADAO President…

Courts in California are preparing for hundreds—perhaps thousands—of sexual abuse civil lawsuits to be filed in the coming months against churches, schools and other institutions. A new California state law extends the maximum age limit for survivors of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits against their former attackers. Under AB 218, which went into effect Jan. 1, sexual abuse survivors now have until age 40 to file for damages, or until five years after a survivor discovers the source of their psychological injury to be connected to an instance of child sexual abuse. The new law provides a three-year…

Everybody knows somebody whose life has been destroyed or ended by opioids. These are children, nephews, neighbors, bosses, parents, professional athletes and music icons. Every story is a unique tragedy. While the sum total of the damage is impossible to calculate, there is no doubt that communities forced to bear the burden have been completely drained dry. During this public health crisis, the horrific has been normalized. We’ve seen morgues overflowing, babies born addicted, and overburdened treatment centers turning people away. Communities serving on the front lines of the opioid epidemic have a desperate need for resources now and for…

Two former administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have come out in strong support of a bill that would ban asbestos. Dismayed that the Trump EPA has kept asbestos legal, Gina McCarthy and William K. Reilly called on Congress to take power into its hands and pass the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2019. “Every year,” they wrote, “asbestos takes the lives of nearly 40,000 Americans and thousands more face a lifetime of pain and suffering from disabling lung diseases like asbestosis and mesothelioma, yet its use remains largely unregulated in the United States.” Reilly was…

A startling new report shows how financially devastating the opioid epidemic has been for the people and businesses of Long Island. According to research from the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI), Nassau and Suffolk counties suffered an estimated $16.6 billion in economic damages in 2016 and 2017—equivalent to roughly $22.4 million a day. That equates to a stunning 4.5 percent of Long Island’s gross domestic product (GDP). According to the report, 45,450 individuals on Long Island are currently living with opioid addiction. Those figures compound quickly for employers, who in 2017 suffered average costs of more than $5,000 per employee. Aggressive…

Sept. 26 is National Mesothelioma Awareness Day, a time for mesothelioma survivors and the asbestos-prevention community to come together to support victims and survivors and to recognize the serious long-term challenges ahead. Across the country and around the world, thousands of people are living with mesothelioma—thousands more are developing mesothelioma and don’t even know it yet. The key to fighting back is raising awareness so more people are educated about the disease and its only known cause: asbestos. A Day Dedicated to Mesothelioma Awareness Mesothelioma Awareness Day was first observed in 2004 on Sept. 26, which makes this the 16th…

In a landmark judgement, Oklahoma judge Thad Balkman ruled on Monday, Aug. 26, that Johnson & Johnson is liable for playing a large role in sparking the state’s opioid crisis through its deceptive marketing practices. With thousands of opioid lawsuits still pending, and another major opioid trial set for October, Monday’s ruling could set a new precedent in the fight against irresponsible drug manufacturers. It is the first lawsuit in the United States to hold a pharmaceutical company responsible for one of the worst and most deadly drug epidemics in modern history. As a result of Judge Balkman’s ruling,…

Survivors of child sexual abuse in New York may yet have a shot at justice, thanks to a new law called the Child Victims Act, or CVA, which opens up the rules on filing sexual abuse lawsuits past a certain age. Within the past week, hundreds of survivors have stepped forward, bringing civil charges against individuals and institutions in the state of New York. Hundreds, if not thousands more are expected in the coming months. The growing amount of sexual abuse lawsuits have all come in response to the CVA. Effective Wed., Aug. 14, the law establishes a one-year…