[Page S1273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 462--DESIGNATING THE FIRST WEEK OF APRIL 2008 AS
``NATIONAL ASBESTOS AWARENESS WEEK''

Mr. BAUCUS (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Tester, Mrs.
Murray, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Kennedy)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary:

S. Res. 462

Whereas dangerous asbestos fibers are invisible and cannot
be smelled or tasted;
Whereas the inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers can
cause significant damage;
Whereas these fibers can cause mesothelioma, asbestosis,
and other health problems;
Whereas asbestos-related diseases can take 10 to 50 years
to present themselves;
Whereas the expected survival time for those diagnosed with
mesothelioma is between 6 and 24 months;
Whereas generally little is known about late stage
treatment and there is no cure for asbestos-related diseases;
Whereas early detection of asbestos-related diseases may
give some patients increased treatment options and might
improve their prognosis;
Whereas the United States has substantially reduced its
consumption of asbestos yet continues to consume almost 2,000
metric tons of the fibrous mineral for use in certain
products throughout the Nation;
Whereas asbestos-related diseases have killed thousands of
people in the United States;
Whereas asbestos exposures continue and safety and
prevention will reduce and has reduced significantly asbestos
exposure and asbestos-related diseases;
Whereas asbestos has been a cause of occupational cancer;
Whereas thousands of workers in the United States face
significant asbestos exposure;
Whereas thousands of people in the United States die from
asbestos-related diseases every year;
Whereas a significant percentage of all asbestos-related
disease victims were exposed to asbestos on naval ships and
in shipyards;
Whereas asbestos was used in the construction of a
significant number of office buildings and public facilities
built before 1975;
Whereas people in the small community of Libby, Montana
have asbestos-related diseases at a significantly higher rate
than the national average and suffer from mesothelioma at a
significantly higher rate than the national average; and
Whereas the establishment of a ``National Asbestos
Awareness Week'' would raise public awareness about the
prevalence of asbestos-related diseases and the dangers of
asbestos exposure: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) designates the first week of April 2008 as ``National
Asbestos Awareness Week'';
(2) urges the Surgeon General, as a public health issue, to
warn and educate people that asbestos exposure may be
hazardous to their health; and
(3) respectfully requests the Secretary of the Senate to
transmit a copy of this resolution to the Surgeon General.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise to talk about an important
resolution I am submitting. It is the asbestos awareness week
resolution. This resolution has passed the Senate for 3 years, and I am
pleased to submit it again this year.
This is a very deeply personal issue for me. About 8 years ago, I was
in Libby, MT, in the living room of Les Skramstad, and there were
several people in the room who were suffering from asbestos-related
diseases. This was in Libby. Since then, about 200 people have died of
asbestos-related diseases.
Les Skramstad, whom I met that day about 8 or 9 years ago, was dying
from mesothelioma. He looked at me and said: As a U.S. Senator, I
expect you do something to help us in Libby.
I said: You bet.
He looked me straight in the eye, and because he has been around a
little bit, he said: Senator, I am going to be watching you to make
sure that is not just an idle promise. I will be watching you.
Boy, I got the message loudly and clearly. I decided right then at
that moment that I need to do all I can to help make sure that people
in Libby, MT, get justice. As I said, over 200 people died since then.
He was an employee of a W.R. Grace mine. W.R. Grace clearly knew it
was poisoning people in Libby, MT, in its mine there. It did not admit
it. There is a criminal case going on right now against the officers of
W.R. Grace claiming that they did know what they were doing.
Asbestos from this mine is called tremolite. It is not the ordinary
crystal asbestos. This is tremolite asbestos, which is much more
pernicious. It gets more deeply embedded in your lungs, more angles to
the dust that gets into your lungs. It is harder to detect. Sometimes
the latency period can be from 20 to 30 years.
Les would come home all dusty from the mine, and he would go home and
embrace his wife, and his kids would jump into his lap. Guess what. Les
is now dead. He died last month from mesothelioma. Les's wife is dying
from asbestos-related diseases. Three of his four children are now
dying.
It is the dust, the asbestos dust that is in Libby, MT. This stuff
was used on playgrounds. It was used on golf courses. It was used for
insulation in attics in homes. People have died and are dying. We are
doing all we can to address this, and we are trying to get them proper
medical care.
There is a clinic called the CARD Clinic in Libby which is doing a
really good job in screening people, trying to find out who has it and
who doesn't. Again, it is very hard to find. You need special
techniques. We had to change the disability laws in America because--
not change but point out to the Social Security Administration that
this is a different kind of asbestos, it is not ordinary asbestos, and
then decide whether to grant disability payments. They were looking at
ordinary asbestos. They didn't know about this asbestos. They didn't
know about tremolite asbestos. Finally, people in Montana are getting
disability benefits because of the asbestos diseases they have.
So I am very proud to submit this resolution. As I said, I have been
doing this for several years, and we are making this National Asbestos
Recognition Week in April, the first week in April. I believe it is so
important to highlight this dread disease so we can stamp out the
scourge and, in my view, finally banish asbestos. If we can accomplish
that, then in some small way we have vindicated the people of Libby,
MT.

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