ABOUT
Smart discussion of the latest science and news on toxins in your food, water, and air, and what government agencies should be doing to protect public health. Written by EWG staff.
DONATE TO EWG!
Help us protect your health and environment! Please donate $5 to EWG today.
GET EWG'S TIPS & ACTION ALERTS
Sign Up here to receive email updates and tips from EWG and stay informed on the issues that matter most to you.
ENVIROBLOG VIA EMAIL
Senate Hearing Focuses on EWG's Chromium-6 Study
You just lost an excuse to buy bottled water
New York State: Avoid these 85 chemicals if you can
Wal-Mart Launches Healthy Food Initiative
SEARCH ENVIROBLOG
FEATURED
Support the 2010 Safe Cosmetics Act. It's Urgent.
Why, oh why is there plastic in my aluminum water bottle?
Cell phone radiation series - Part 2: 8 Ways to reduce your exposure
Test Your Knowledge of Cosmetics Safety: 8 Myths Debunked
EWG's Tips for Parents: The Series
EWG's Tips to avoid BPA exposure
EWG on TV
Cutting the Pork from U.S. Farm Bill
Sunscreen safety & DC drinking water
Perchlorate in people, kids' personal care products & plastics, and sunscreen
BPA in baby formula & safe cosmetics
What can I do about fluoride in my water?
What is new carpet treated with? What can I do?
Are stainless steel water bottles safe?
Is mineral-based makeup safer?
PEOPLE TALKING TOXICS
TALK TO US
Did we miss something? Email Enviroblog.
« PBS's NOW on toxic natural gas extraction | Main | Commandments in the kitchen: Got some? »
Asbestos: Cover up of a century
By Kenneth A. Cook, Co-founder and President, Environmental Working Group
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.
10,000 Americans lose their lives every year as a result of exposure to asbestos. Our government could take action and ban the mineral, but it has not.
A number of other developed countries, including all of Europe, prohibit manufacture and use of asbestos. In the U.S., however, it continues to be imported and used in a number of products that many of us encounter every day.
Industry has known all about the deadly affects of asbestos for decades but covered it up. Manufacturers and users did everything possible to conceal just how deadly it is, particularly for those exposed on the job.
A few years back, EWG compiled industry internal memos and court documents highlighting just how callous and duplicitous the cover-up of asbestos has been. The results of our investigation, including all the documents, are on EWG's chemical index.
A 1966 memo from an executive of the Bendix Corporation (now part of Honeywell) read:
"...if you have enjoyed a good life while working with asbestos products, why not die from it."
The legacy of asbestos exposure is one of the great public health tragedies of the last 100 years, one that has taken an incalculable toll on American families. Congress must hold those responsible to account and ban asbestos once and for all.
[Thanks to Flickr CC & ktheory for the pic]
It is unconscionable that the EPA, Congress and the courts have not banned asbestos use in the US. I understand that the EPA attempted to do just that in the early 1990s, but were defeated in court. That is outrageous! We know for sure that asbestos is extraordinarily toxic to the lungs. Why is the continued use approved? There is no good reason; industry just wants to continue making a profit at the expense of workers and others who are exposed.
Congress, give the EPA some teeth to be able to actually regulate toxic materials such as asbestos.
NOW!
Patricia, Thanks for weighing in. Yes, we sure want the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to be stronger and more effective; it's high time. EWG is working hard to reform TSCA - you can read all about it and get active here: http://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/kid-safe-chemicals-act/. One thing we highlight to show TSCA's weakness is its failure to ban asbestos.