Is Work Killing You?

Yep, we all know that Friday afternoon feeling – when the boss has asked for one too many things, when the emails have somehow multiplied and when you feel like your job just might kill you after all.

While stress on the job is a significant contributor to cardiac illness and other ailments, most of us do manage to navigate through our work lives without serious health issues. That is, unless we have been exposed to toxic substances on the job.

Take, for example, asbestos. Despite decades of solid scientific knowledge that asbestos is deadly, workers all over the world (including the U.S.) are still being exposed to asbestos every day, generally without their knowledge and without any safety precautions. 

While it is a common perception that American workers are protected by strict safety regulations, that’s just not the case when it comes to asbestos. The U.S. has still not joined the 55+ other nations who have banned asbestos. In 2010, 820 metric tons of asbestos were imported to the U.S. – and the amount is, unbelievably, not decreasing each year. (Most of the asbestos is used for roofing and other construction products.)

So when workers come together this Sunday to commemorate the 24th annual Workers’ Memorial Day, we have a request: remember the workers who have died as a result of asbestos exposure and push for a complete ban on the import and use of asbestos in the U.S.

It is the only way to stop the senseless tragedy of asbestos.