Environmental Working Group (EWG)

EPA Inspector General: Agency’s Asbestos Guidance ‘Potential Risk to Public Health’

For Immediate Release: June 17, 2015 Contact: Alex Formuzis, EWG Action Fund: 202.667.6982 or alex@ewg.org Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s official guidance on the demolition of crumbling buildings with asbestos is woefully outdated and must be revamped to protect public health, says the agency’s own inspector general in a[…]

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Ray of hope for nearly 15,000 Americans who die each year of asbestos-related disease

Washington, D.C. – (June 16, 2015) – A man diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2013 saw his tumors virtually disappear within two months of completing an experimental treatment developed by Australian cancer researchers, a newly published study reports. Bradley Selmon, 51, who was exposed to asbestos over years of working as[…]

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Federal Data Show Millions of American Workers Inhaling Asbestos

For Immediate Release: June 10, 2015 Contact: Alex Formuzis, EWG Action Fund: 202.667.6982 or alex@ewg.org Washington, D.C. – For decades, American workers have been breathing air contaminated with asbestos in excess of federal health limits, according to a new analysis of federal government air sampling data. In a study published last month in the[…]

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Asbestos Victims and Families Decry Congressional Push to Run Out the Clock on Compensation

Contact: Alex Formuzis: 202.667.6982 or alex@ewg.org WASHINGTON, D.C.(May 14, 2015)  – In response to today’s congressional action setting up a likely House vote on a bill designed to delay compensating asbestos victims, several prominent victims’ advocates took lawmakers to task for siding with industry instead of public health. The Furthering[…]

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New Estimate Finds Asbestos Kills 12,000-15,000 Americans a Year

Contact: Alex Formuzis: 202.667.6982 or alex@ewg.org WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 13, 2015) – A new analysis by EWG Action Fund concludes that up to 15,000 Americans die every year from asbestos-related diseases, significantly more than previous estimates. The findings indicate that 50 years after medical research definitively established that asbestos kills, the[…]

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EWG Action Fund Seeks Gov’t Data on Asbestos in Consumer Products

Washington, D.C. (May 12, 2015) – EWG Action Fund today filed Freedom of Information requests with the federal Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission seeking information on undisclosed asbestos contamination in consumer goods. “American asbestos mining stopped years ago, but a mounting body of evidence indicates that asbestos still[…]

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Asbestos Exposure Scares and Violations Common Across U.S.

For Immediate Release: May 7, 2015 Contact: Alex Formuzis: 202.667.6982 or alex@ewg.org Washington, D.C. – Almost every week, somewhere in the U.S., another asbestos problem makes the news – contamination of schools, hospitals, court houses and other public buildings, faulty abatement and removal, workers illegally exposed to deadly airborne fibers,[…]

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Jury Award in Talcum Powder Case Highlights Serious Asbestos Risks

WASHINGTON – Wednesday’s $12.4 million verdict against Colgate-Palmolive Co. by a jury that found that a California woman contracted mesothelioma from asbestos-laced talcum powder is a stark reminder of the threats that asbestos still poses to millions of people, said EWG Action Fund. The Los Angeles jury found in favor of[…]

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House Bill Seeks to Protect Public from Risks of Asbestos Exposure

Washington, D.C. — Legislation introduced today by Reps. Suzan Delbene (D-Wash.) and Gene Green (D-Tx.) would set up a federal online database of information about products that contain asbestos and where those items are likely to be found in communities across the country. Similar to legislation introduced in the U.S.[…]

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Bill Aims To Run Out the Clock on Calif. Asbestos Victims

For Immediate Release: April 23, 2015 Contact: Alex Formuzis: 202.667.6982 or alex@ewg.org Sacramento, Calif. – The EWG Action Fund has joined a growing coalition of worker, consumer, and health groups opposing a California legislative proposal that threatens to deny compensation to dying victims of asbestos exposure, one of the nation’s[…]

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