Toledo, Ohio’s location on the western shore of Lake Erie makes it a great city for power houses, refineries, steel mills, lake steam ship building, rail transportation, and other industries that often use asbestos.
Local 50 of The United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry (UA Local 50) is a trade union serving Northwest Ohio and the Toledo area. UA Local 50 members include retirees and current employees of the industries mentioned above, and all of them have been exposed or are at risk of exposure to asbestos. For this reason, UA Local 50 called on the Meso Foundation for asbestos and prevention education.
Diane Blackburn-Zambetti, Director of Policy and Prevention Education at the Meso Foundation, was invited to participate in the annual UA Local 50 Health Fair on December 5, organized by the union nurse, Pat Kovar, RN. The fair included over 100 active participants, and over 300 union members were present to collect information and ask questions.
“I feel the more a person can learn about the real importance of using protective equipment to decrease exposure and ways to protect loved ones by not spreading asbestos in their environment is truly an important thing,” said Pat Kovar. “It is my desire to educate as much as possible and then to encourage the members and their families to follow through on that information.”
On behalf of the Meso Foundation, Diane would like to thank Local 50 of The United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry for the opportunity to educate their members on asbestos awareness, exposure prevention, and asbestos-related diseases, and the Meso Foundation looks forward to working with UA Local 50 in 2016 to further develop available materials and education for its membership.
Further information on asbestos and exposure prevention can be found at curemeso.org/asbestos.
