Asbestos: Dangerous still

As U.S. Sen. Patty Murray knows well from a long fight to get rid of asbestos, Americans commonly assume it was banned years ago. In fact, asbestos still makes its way into cement pipes, tiles and brake linings, posing a deadly health hazard.

This month, a Senate committee is expected to approve in bipartisan fashion her Ban Asbestos in America Act. But she said the bill will still face a long road to congressional passage, and she doesn't know whether President Bush would sign it.

Judy Clauson, a 44-year-old Aberdeen mother who suffers an asbestos-linked case of mesothelioma, told a Murray news conference she is very angry that "something as dangerous as asbestos is still legal in this country." More than 40 other countries already have banned it, finding other alternatives for their products, Murray said.

Murray's bill would establish a new research and treatment network. It also would require stepped-up public education about dangers from asbestos for people working with brakes or remodeling homes, where insulation and other products may be contaminated. The dangers are real, especially when we have no clue what our government has allowed into homes and workplaces.