ADAO announces asbestos awareness award recipients
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) has announced this year’s honorees for outstanding work toward asbestos awareness. The awards will be presented at the ADAO’s Fifth Annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference, which takes place in Manhattan Beach, California March 27-29, 2009.
At the March conference, ADAO will honor United States Senator Barbara Boxer with the Tribute of Hope Award in recognition of her dedication to banning asbestos use in the United States. Although many people think that asbestos has already been banned in this country, its use is still permitted in a variety of products, and asbestos-containing products are imported into the U.S. every day. Senator Boxer has worked with U.S. Senator Patty Murray to have the dangerous substance banned in the United States, as it is in more than 40 countries around the world.
Margaret Seminario of the AFL/CIO will be presented with the Tribute of Unity Award in honor of the union’s work to educate and unite asbestos victims around the world. The World Health Organization has recognized that asbestos is among the most important occupational carcinogens and that approximately 125 million workers are exposed to asbestos globally each year. See related story.
Dr. Stephen Levin will receive the Dr. Irving Selikoff Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his commitment to researching asbestos’ medical and social impact. Dr. Levin is the Medical Director of the Mount Sinai – Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Pralhad Malvadkar and Raghunath Manwar will receive the Tribute of Inspiration Award for their work on behalf of asbestos victims in India and around the world. India’s asbestos problem is very serious. See related story. The country is importing large amounts of asbestos, and workers—in the manufacturing and shipbreaking industries, for example—are not being protected from exposure.
For the full story, go to the ADAO Press Release.
