My daughter was just 10 years-old when my husband, Alan, was diagnosed with a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, a deadly material which is still being used in the U.S. today.

Families like mine have fought for decades to get the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the use of asbestos, but instead the administration allows imports and use to continue.

Alan’s disease was incurable – but it was also entirely preventable. Asbestos kills an estimated 39,000 people in the US every year, yet the EPA has not banned companies from continuing to use it. They are knowingly poisoning Americans.

In 2004, Doug Larkin and I co-founded the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization to fight for families battling mesothelioma. We vowed that we would fight with all of our strength to prevent other families from going through the pain, devastation, and loss that we experienced.

Emily and I were there with Alan when he took his last breaths. I lost my soulmate and my daughter lost her father because our government refused to stand up to greedy corporations.  

The EPA has now spent decades of time and taxpayer dollars on asbestos research. They know it is deadly, yet hundreds of tons of raw asbestos are allowed every year to be used in our country.

It’s long past time that the EPA banned this deadly material once and for all. Enough is enough.