EWG Action Fund: New Congress Aligns with Asbestos Industry

Pushes for Bill on World Cancer Day that Denies Justice for Victims

WASHINGTON – World Cancer Day should serve as a reminder that asbestos can cause cancer and kill. Instead, the new Congress today underscored how tone deaf it is when it comes to the plight of real Americans by holding a hearing on the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act.

The FACT Act would place new burdens on asbestos bankruptcy trusts, slowing compensation to victims suffering from fatal asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma, an extremely painful cancer that attacks the lining around the lungs, stomach and other vital organs.

Asbestos is a recognized cancer-causing threat to consumers, workers and the environment.

Heather White of EWG Action Fund said:

Rather than focusing on the 10,000 people who die each year from asbestos-related cancer and disease, the leadership of the House Judiciary Committee continues to align itself with an industry that for decades hid the dangers of asbestos. Asbestos companies are still trying to hide the perils of asbestos.

If transparency really is the driving force for the Congressional hearing, lawmakers need to force asbestos companies to come clean on where asbestos is imported, used and stored. The fact is, asbestos is still legal and lethal in the United States – and it’s everywhere.

As EWG Action Fund documented in its groundbreaking investigation “Asbestos: Think Again,” thousands of Americans die every year from asbestos-related disease. On World Cancer Day we should be working to prevent cancers like mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses.

We need more justice for victims, not red tape that allows industry to run out the clock on the victims’ claims. 

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EWG Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that is a separate sister organization of the Environmental Working Group. The mission of EWG Action Fund is to protect health and the environment by educating the public and lobbying on a wide range of environmental issues. Donations to EWG Action Fund are not tax-deductible.

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