Urgent Need for Research and Treatment

Fourth, research and treatment for asbestos diseases are not very far along. Doctors have been hampered by a lack of funding for research on how asbestos fibers actually cause disease and what treatment strategies work best. Industrial hygienists have been hampered by the lack of research on how to best measure asbestos fibers in the air.

I know that the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) has privately awarded over $4 million in grants.

The Foundation’s investment in research is helping motivate brilliant investigators to study mesothelioma. But the Foundation’s seed money is not enough. Federal funding is critical to the research effort if we are truly going to help people.

My bill also requires collaboration among the 10 research and treatment centers established under the bill along with the National Cancer Institute, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

And because nearly one-third of mesothelioma victims were exposed to asbestos while serving in the U.S. Navy, my bill directs the Pentagon to conduct additional research on asbestos disease, early detection and treatment as well.

I am very encouraged that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has embarked on an ambitious research roadmap to better answer current scientific questions about appropriate occupational levels of exposure.