The Issue
Asbestos
EWG research showed that 10,000 people die each year of asbestos-related diseases and unearthed documents showing that corporate executives concealed for decades the dangers of making or handling asbestos-containing materials.
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The Latest on Asbestos
Even the asbestos industry has its defenders on Capitol Hill. Their support for the deadly carcinogen and the industries that use it was on display when the “Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2012” was introduced last month.
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Thousands of innocent people die while governments do nothing to prevent it. In Darfur it's called genocide. In the case of asbestos-related deaths in the United States, it's just a statistic.
Read MoreAsbestos is probably the most infamous carcinogenic material ever used. It has been responsible for the deaths of an untold number of people going as far back as 100 AD, when contemporary reports tell of Greek and Roman slaves falling ill after weaving cloth made from the substance.
Read MoreBy Elaine Shannon
People think asbestos, a known carcinogen and cause of lung disease, has been banned - and it has, in about 40 countries.
Read MoreIndependent Lab Studies Conducted by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) Found Dangerous Levels of Cancer-Causing Chemical in Popular Children's Toy
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Environmental Working Group (EWG) Executive Director, Richard Wiles, praised the action of Connecticut state officials that removed fromsale all Planet Toys' CSI: Crime Scene Investigationtm Fingerprint Examination Kits due to recent test results finding dangerous levels of asbestos in powders contained in some sample kits.
Read MoreLast week, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) announced the results of an exhaustive 18-month scientific study testing hundreds of consumer products for the deadly cancer-causing chemical asbestos.
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October 10, 2007
The Honorable Patty Murray
United States Senate - Washington
Washington, DC 20510
Environmental Working Group (EWG) Executive Director Richard Wiles issued the following statement thanking United States Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) after the Senate unanimously passed landmark anti-asbestos legislation the two lawmakers introduced back in March of this year. Senator Murray was the bill’s author, and Boxer was an original co-sponsor, who as Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee was instrumental in its passage.
Read MoreEighteen years after the Environmental Protection Agency unsuccessfully attempted to ban asbestos, one of the world’s most deadly substances, a Senate panel voted this week to ban the use of the microscopic fibers.
Read MoreDownload this letter as a PDF.
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works
Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Read MoreOver two decades, W.R. Grace & Co. slowly killed hundreds of workers at its Libby, Mont. asbestos mine. It's one of the most notorious cases in the annals of environmental crime – but Grace may escape punishment through loopholes opened by the same justice system that's trying to convict the company.
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EWG is disturbed to learn that Dennis C. Paustenbach is on the "Short List" of potential appointees to the Asbestos Panel of the EPA Science Advisory Board. EPA's Ispecifies that appointees to the Panel should display "absence of financial conflicts of interest" and "absence of an appearance of a lack of impartiality." Based on evidence of his work for defendant corporations in lawsuits over asbestos exposure, his studies that consistently aim to refute or minimize the scientifically established risks of asbestos exposure, and other evidence detailed below of a lack of adherence to scientific and professional ethics, it is clear that Dr. Paustenbach is unfit to serve on the Panel.
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OSHA scientist Ira Wainless is facing unpaid suspension for standing by his assertion that mechanics should be warned of possible asbestos exposure from brake pads. Most people, including mechanics, assume that the import of asbestos-containing products has been banned in the U.S. as it has in most other countries. Think again. The Baltimore Sun reports an 83% increase in asbestos-laden imported brakes in the last decade.
Read MoreMultiple articles from recent news.
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Newly uncovered, never-before-released documents from W.R. Grace show that workers in at least 14 W.R.
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