The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization will hold its 13th Annual International Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference next month to help raise awareness of asbestos-related mesothelioma.
The meeting, set for April 7-9 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Va., is themed “Where Knowledge and Action Unite.” Some 40 experts, victims, union representatives and lawmakers from six countries will discuss joint efforts in education, advocacy and awareness. See the full conference agenda here, including details about presentations and their schedule.
Among other things, the meeting features sessions on diagnosing and treating mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, how to prevent mesothelioma, and advocacy efforts to ban asbestos globally.
Registration fees vary between $175 (including cruise, conference and brunch for patients, caregivers and students) and $350 (including cruise, conference and brunch for professionals). For an additional $100, participants can attend the ADAO Awards and Recognition Dinner on April 8.
To underwrite the cost of the event, ADAO has also received $100,000 from long-time sponsor Simmons Hanly Conroy, an Illinois-based law firm that specializes in asbestos-related lawsuits.
“Simmons Hanly Conroy is proud to support the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s important, ongoing work to help prevent asbestos exposure and protect the rights of individuals and their families who are impacted by mesothelioma and other asbestos-related cancers,” John Simmons, chairman of Simmons Hanly Conroy, said in a press release.
Founded in 2004, the ADAO, based in Redondo Beach, Calif., is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure, eliminating asbestos-related diseases and protecting asbestos victims’ civil rights through education, advocacy and community initiatives.
“Simmons Hanly Conroy continues to be a generous and principal supporter of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and its annual conference,” said Linda Reinstein, ADAO’s co-founder, president and CEO. “We are grateful for the firm’s dedication to helping to spread awareness of the dangers of asbestos and to our goal of a global ban on asbestos.”
At the event, ADAO will distribute a series of awards. One of them, the 2017 Tribute of Unity Award, will be given to the Brazilian Association of the Asbestos-Exposed (ABREA in Portuguese).
Former employees of Swiss multinational Eternit established the grassroots group in São Paulo in 1995 to raise awareness about the health dangers of asbestos, which have plagued thousands of Brazilians. In fact, Brazil is now the world’s fifth largest producer and consumer of asbestos, with annual per-capita use averaging 1,400 grams, compared to 500 grams per year in Canada and less than 100 grams per year in the United States.
About 40 other individuals and organizations will receive ADAO recognition. Check out the remaining awards to be announced at the conference.
