Global Asbestos Awareness Week Promotes an End to Asbestos Exposure

Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW) runs from April 1 to 7, spotlighting the ongoing risks of asbestos and the importance of safety. 

GAAW is a sustained international initiative dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure, advancing evidence-based policy, and protecting public health. Now in its 22nd year, GAAW convenes scientists, public health professionals, labor leaders, policymakers, advocates, and individuals impacted by asbestos-related diseases from around the world to share knowledge, document risk, and drive prevention-focused action.

Asbestos is a known human carcinogen with no safe level of exposure. Despite persistent misconceptions that asbestos is a problem of the past, it remains both legal and lethal in the United States, and exposure continues to pose a serious public health threat. Asbestos remains in homes, schools, workplaces, consumer products, and contaminated sites, placing workers, families, and communities at ongoing risk.

 “The mismanagement of asbestos is down to lack of surveys, lack of understanding, and lack of identification of asbestos,” said Stephen Booth, Specialist Remediation Solutions managing director. “Many people think most asbestos is just found in pipe lagging, but actually it can be in adhesive, floor tiles, and Artex ceilings to name a few, plus in the wider world it has been found in science equipment in schools and talcum powder. We need people to have a greater understanding of asbestos and where you might find it.”

Although banned in more than 70 countries, asbestos remains legal and lethal in the U.S. Each year, more than 40,000 Americans die from asbestos-related diseases, while more than 200,000 people worldwide die from illnesses linked to asbestos exposure.

“More than two decades after we launched Global Asbestos Awareness Week, the message remains clear. Asbestos exposure is preventable, and prevention saves lives,” said Linda Reinstein, president and CEO of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) and co-founder of the international campaign. “By sharing trusted science, elevating the voices of those affected, and advancing policy solutions such as the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act, we can protect workers, families, and future generations from this entirely preventable disease.”

Throughout the week, ADAO, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, the British Occupational Hygiene Society, and others will share educational resources, expert insights, and personal stories from individuals whose lives have been forever changed by asbestos exposure.