In conjunction with Asbestos Awareness Week, which takes place from April 1-7, the Meso Foundation announced the formation of its new prevention program to complement its existing work in mesothelioma research, education, support, and advocacy.
“As part of the Meso Foundation’s mission, we want to eliminate harmful exposures and extinguish fears of diseases related to asbestos, including mesothelioma,” said the Meso Foundation’s executive director, Mary Hesdorffer, Nurse Practitioner.
“By uniting globally with top experts, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation strives to be the leader in mesothelioma prevention, taking one additional step towards eradicating this disease,” she added.
The EPA estimates that asbestos is still present in tens of millions of homes, government buildings, schools, and has also been found naturally-occurring in the soil in several locations in the United States, sometimes in very close proximity to inhabited areas. According to the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an estimated 1.3 million construction employees continue to be occupationally exposed to asbestos. When disturbed, asbestos particles become airborne and are easily inhaled. No amount of exposure is deemed safe.
In the United States, many workers in a number of industries and occupations, their families, and even people with no history of occupational exposure were exposed and continue to be exposed to asbestos.
The Meso Foundation has hired Diane Blackburn-Zambetti as its new director of policy and prevention education. Diane has developed significant first-hand experience with the impacts of these conditions through her 30 year career as a radiation therapist. She has treated many types of cancers during her tenure, including mesothelioma. The most inspirational patient of her career would be her father, Dale Blackburn, whose pleural mesothelioma diagnosis in 2002 became her driving force. Diane is OSHA certified and has been educating trade union members about asbestos and its dangers since 2005.
The Meso Foundation will implement this program by:
- Bringing together top environmental and medical experts who share the common goal of eradicating mesothelioma;
- Creating and delivering educational programs to high-risk individuals and the general population about asbestos and other known carcinogens. This will emphasize knowledge as the key to exposure prevention;
- Instilling a thought process of “Stop – Look – Think” to eliminate reactive decisions, prevent unnecessary exposures and take-home exposures;
- Creating an accessible base of information regarding possible asbestos-containing materials and proper asbestos-containing material remediation;
- Funding research into early detection of mesothelioma and at-risk populations.
To learn more about the Meso Foundation’s prevention program, visit curemeso.org/asbestos.
