April 1st marks the beginning of the first annual National Asbestos Awareness Week - a time to raise awareness about the dangers and harm that asbestos can bring about. While we applaud the US Congress for taking action in raising public awareness about the dangers of asbestos, we cannot help but notice that their legislation is not vigilant enough. An awareness week is certainly a step in the right direction, but why has Congress not yet banned asbestos? Over 40 other countries have outlawed the substance, and still we remain one of the very few who have not.

Last year, it seemed there was promise on the horizon. A bill made its way through the Senate outlining a ban on asbestos. Hundreds of people testified for the bill but when it was finally passed, these supporters were shocked to see the outcome: the bill had been diluted and hardly any restrictions on asbestos were enacted. While the EPA insisted the bill should prohibit any product to which asbestos is deliberately added or used, or in which asbestos is otherwise present in any concentration, lobbyists from mines, auto companies, and businesses were able to water down the bill.

The result: a lax bill that does hardly anything to protect against asbestos-related diseases:

- The bill will not prevent the sale of talc powder, which is an asbestos-based material used in children’s clay, even though it has been proven that talc mine workers contracted disease due to asbestos exposure.

- The bill will not prevent the sale of taconite waste, which contains asbestos, to be used in construction across the country. Even though taconite has a high concentration of asbestos, companies plan to sell it claiming it is asbestos-free. The bill will do nothing to stop this.

- The bill will not prevent the sale of vermiculite, an asbestos-based substance used in home insulation. Hundreds of vermiculite mine workers have contracted mesothelioma, but the bill does nothing to prevent the re-opening of the mine. Once opened, neither the mine nor vermiculite sales would be monitored.

This bill will continue to make its way through Congress this year. Its intention was great, but it lost its meaning now that it has been diluted. An Awareness Week is admirable, but we hope that Congress' attention shifts to the more pressing issue: a total ban of asbestos