An anti-asbestos petition has been created by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization ad has nearly reached 150,000 signatures.

    The petition was started by Linda Reinstein of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and is calling for the Environmental Protection Agency to completely ban all use of asbestos.

    Asbestos is a dangerous mineral that has slowly been phasing out of public use in the United States for the past couple of decades. The mineral used to be heavily used across many different industries, including manufacturing and construction. The asbestos mineral was heavily used in the construction of houses until it was found to be extremely detrimental to a person’s health when breathed in. The fibers of asbestos are so small that when they are disturbed or damaged, they go airborne and are easily inhaled. When inhaled, the asbestos fibers lodge themselves into the lungs and cause diseases and cancers such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and asbestos related lung cancer.

    Due to these findings, the EPA has worked to heavily regulate asbestos and raise awareness on the dangerous material. However, according to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, the lack of a full ban on asbestos will only contribute to more deaths via the deadly mineral. Asbestos still kills up to 39,000 people every year, yet the EPA is unwilling to enact a full ban on the material, instead protecting the industries that still heavily use asbestos.

    According to the petition, the Environmental Protection Agency needs to stop wasting tax-payer dollars on more research to find out what they already know; that asbestos is dangerous and that it needs to be banned.