On International Workers Memorial Day on April 28th, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization paused to honor the more than 100,000 workers killed worldwide by asbestos-related diseases, noting that “asbestos is still the number one carcinogen in the world of work and causes 54% of all deaths from occupational cancer.”

“Asbestos has touched the lives of millions of people, each with names and families, like Nellie Kershaw, the 33 year old factory worker, who was the first case of asbestosis published in medical literature in 1927,” said Dr. Richard A. Lemen, Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS (ret.), and Co-Scientific Director of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization. “Today we think of the thousands of people, like Nellie Kershaw, who have lost their lives to the highly preventable diseases caused by asbestos.”

Dr. Arthur Frank, Co-Scientific Director of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, spoke about the recent plight of the U.S. Capitol Tunnel Workers who have been unnecessarily exposed to dangerous asbestos inside the miles of tunnels that carry steam and cold water throughout the Capitol complex.

“Given that we are in the 21st century and the hazards of asbestos have been known since the 19th century, and further revealed in the 20th, it is outrageous that the Congressional tunnel workers were subjected to asbestos exposures over a protracted period of time. Given their exposures and the absence of adequate protection, they have an elevated risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and all the other diseases related to asbestos, on top of the asbestosis that has been diagnosed among of members of this group,” said Frank. “As we pay tribute to former workers on this day of remembrance, we need to take action to protect current workers who are still being abused.”

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