GAAW: ADAO to raise awareness about asbestos dangers

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which combines education, advocacy, and community to provide a unified voice for asbestos victims, today announced Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW), "E X P O S E D - The Facts about Asbestos" April 1 - 7, 2011.

Global Asbestos Awareness Week was created to raise awareness about the dangers of asbestos helping in order to prevent asbestos-caused diseases. We are striving for a unified voice throughout the world over the course of seven days: Asbestos: One Word. One Week. One World. International experts, advocates, and victims will share how asbestos impacts the citizens of the world and how it truly has no boundaries. Guest writers from Canada, Mexico, Japan, South America, India, UK, and beyond will continue to open our eyes to the devastating wake that asbestos is leaving behind.

The week coincides with ADAO's 7^th Annual Global Asbestos Awareness Conference with the 7th Annual Asbestos Awareness Conference (April 1 - 3, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia) which brings leading international experts together to discuss the impact of asbestos on public health, the environment, and the economy.

Interested participants may visit the GAAW site to learn to easily share information about global asbestos awareness initiatives via numerous social media outlets including Facebook and Twitter. In addition, GAAW artwork is available for download and use by participating organizations.

"The World Health Organization reported 'in 2004, asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis from occupational exposures resulted in 107,000 deaths,'" explained Linda Reinstein, President/CEO and Co-founder of ADAO. This number obviously excludes environmental and non-occupational exposure. "These aren't just numbers; these are people who are patients, families, and friends who have been impacted by preventable deadly asbestos diseases," added Reinstein. "ADAO is excited about this global week of asbestos awareness and our integrative social media strategy to expand this educational campaign around the world. The knowledge revolution and we encourage everyone to be a GAAW Supporter by spreading the word through their favorite social network! The time is now, and together change is possible!"

According to the British Lung Foundation, "The British Lung Foundation (BLF) welcomes any project that aims to raise awareness of the dangers of exposure to asbestos and the Global Asbestos Awareness Week Educational campaign is no exception. People often think asbestos is a thing of the past, however, it wasn't fully banned until 1999 and is present in many buildings today. We are hopeful that our joint work will put a stop to the disease that currently kills one person every five hours in the UK."

Source: Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)