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What started as National Asbestos Awareness Day in 2005 is now National Asbestos Awareness Week, providing more opportunities to educate the public to the world-wide health problem caused by this toxic substance.

All asbestos and mesothelioma-related organizations celebrate this week, which takes place April 1 - 7  and is highlighted by a multi-day International Asbestos Awareness Conference in Washington, D.C. The conference, hosted by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), brings together a variety of doctors, speakers and survivors to talk about asbestos issues, advancements in treatments for  asbestos-related diseases and a number of other topics.

"People can make money from asbestos. That's why it's still being used," said Arthur Frank, Ph.D., co-chairman of ADAO's Science Advisory Board and chairman of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at Drexel University. "It's hard to imagine that 55 countries are smarter than America, but it's true. They have banned it. We have not. That says something about our politics, our approach to health and well-being, our world today."