Officially named the state rock in 1965, serpentine was chosen because, at the time, it was heavily mined and was a representation of California’s Gold Rush period.

Currently, State Senator, Democrat Gloria Romero of Los Angeles is petitioning to drop serpentine as the state rock of California because it contains a form of asbestos known as chrysotile. Exposure to asbestos can result in a various number of illnesses, one of the worst being mesothelioma, a lethal form of cancer caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers.

The Senator’s goal is to raise awareness and educate people about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

The bill, SB 624, has been approved by the State Senate and is being reviewed by the Assembly. It has support from the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the Children’s Hospital of LA, and the Consumer Attorneys of California.

California leads the U.S. in asbestos related diseases and deaths. Supporters do not believe the state should be celebrating a mineral that has such devastating effects.

However, there are also those on the other side who are against removing this historic symbol. Geologists in particular strongly oppose the bill. They say that in its natural state, asbestos is not harmful. And that no one is at risk with the casual exposure to asbestos that occurs when handling the rock. The danger would arise if it was hammered and broken up into little pieces.

In a statement on the campaign to drop the state rock, CEO and Co-founder of ADAO, Linda Reinstein explains how “the World Health Organization, the Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Surgeon General agree: all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic and there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Drop the Rock is an effort to remove a symbol that no longer has relevance for the State’s mining industry and unfortunately perpetuates a false message that asbestos is safe.”

Hilton urges readers to “read up on and donate to a very worthwhile cause!”

Because the only known cause of mesothelioma, an extremely aggressive and lethal form of cancer, is exposure to asbestos, it is typically associated with war veterans and workers and laborers, such as electricians, mechanics, insulators, plumbers, and roofers.

However, it is a disease that has touched Hollywood as well.

In 1980, American actor Steve McQueen died while in the advanced stages of peritoneal mesothelioma, a form found in the abdominal cavity. McQueen believed his exposure to asbestos came from working with pipes while he was in the Marines.

Film and television actor Paul Gleason, seen in movies such as The Breakfast Club and Die Hard, died in 2006 after being diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, a form found in the lining of the lungs. He attributed his exposure to asbestos to the work he did on building sites while growing up.

And most recently, Merlin Olsen, a Professional Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman, football commentator, and actor, died of pleural mesothelioma in March 2010. In a lawsuit against a number of companies, including NBC Universal, The Sherwin Williams Company, and 20^th Century Fox, he claimed to have been exposed to asbestos at several points in his life such as when he worked with asbestos materials at an after-school job and constantly being around workers installing drywall later in life.

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to funding mesothelioma research,  supporting and educating patients, and advocating federal funding.

A representative from the organization commented on the blog with the following: “Wow – what an honor to have our Foundation mentioned on your site!! On behalf of our Board of Directors, patients and families we serve, I thank you for recognizing our tireless efforts to find better treatment options for mesothelioma patients…. To learn more about our mission, please visit www.CureMeso.org.”

To read the whole post, visit PerezHilton.com.

Recently, there have been efforts started around the world to help put a stop to asbestos exposure and to support those whose lives have already been affected by exposure.

On April 30th, Australia’s Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations launched the Australian Mesothelioma Registry. Managed by the Cancer Institute of NSW, it will collect information on new cases of mesothelioma from the State and Territory registries.

Once the highest per capita consumer of asbestos in the world, Australia is predicted to have an increase in residents suffering from asbestos-related diseases over the next four to five years. By collecting details of when, where, and how the asbestos occurred, authorities hope to prevent future risks.

In North East England and Cumbria, the number of workers who have died from an asbestos-related disease has reached a record high, at 400 people per year. The industrial past of the region lends itself to a high mesothelioma diagnosis rate. To help living victims and family members cope, the Northern Asbestos Support and Campaign Group was launched in April on Worker’s Memorial Day.

With 2,000 people dying nationally every year from an asbestos-related disease, asbestos is the largest work-related cause of death in the UK.

In Quebec, asbestos-related diseases have become the cause of over 60 percent of occupational deaths, however, the province continues to mine the product and export it overseas.

A New Democrat member of parliament and the Canadian Cancer Society are challenging the federal government to stop its funding of the Chrysotile Institute, an advocacy group that promotes the safe use of asbestos, and instead use the money to come up with a strategy that will phase out the use and export of asbestos.

And in Rwanda, steps have been taken to begin the removal of asbestos roofing in schools throughout the country and prevent the building of any future schools with this lethal material. To make sure the removal is done in a safe way that will not cause widespread contamination during demolition, Canadian experts have been brought in to manage the project.

As a start, we’ve recently been focused on building out our database of mesothelioma treatment centers as well as our database of doctors who specialize in treating patients with mesothelioma. For example, you’ll now find listings of treatment centers in 43 states across the U.S. – grouped by State.  Each entry provides basic contact information and a brief description explaining that center’s offerings.  Also, each one provides a link to that center’s web site, for more information.

We’ve built a similar set of data for doctors who specialize in mesothelioma – with specialists in 33 States across the U.S.  and have just this past month verified every entry to be sure you’re getting the most up to date and accurate information possible.

As we are able to, we will add even more listings, and regularly verify that the information we have is accurate.

If a treatment center or doctor you know of is not listed, please let us know and we’ll be happy to add them here.