Washington, D.C. - Senator Boxer, Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the statement below following the Senate's passage of a resolution to designate the first week of April as "National Asbestos Awareness Week."

Senator Boxer said: "Asbestos is one of the most dangerous substances known to humankind - it takes 10,000 lives a year. National Asbestos Awareness Week is an important reminder of why we need to fight to ensure that our families and children are protected from this lethal hazard. That is why Senator Markey and I recently introduced S. 725, the Alan Reinstein and Trevor Schaefer Toxic Chemical Protection Act, which specifically addresses the threat posed by asbestos."

S. 725 is named after Alan Reinstein, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 66 from mesothelioma, a disease associated with exposure to asbestos. The legislation is also named after Trevor Schaefer, a brain cancer survivor who was diagnosed with the disease twelve years ago at the age of 13. For more information and a bill summary for S. 725, 
click here.

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