The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

last week announced that U.S. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana will be

presented with the Tribute of Hope Award for his efforts fighting

on behalf of residents of Libby, Lincoln County and asbestos

victims everywhere.

“It's an honor to receive this award. I'm

humbled and grateful to the people of Libby for their courage and

resilience in the face of this outrageous tragedy, and this award

truly belongs to them,” Baucus said through a news release. “I'm

also grateful to organizations like the Asbestos Disease Awareness

Organization and folks in Montana and all over the country who’ve

worked so hard to raise awareness and fight for the victims of

asbestos exposure,” Baucus said.

Baucus’s efforts helped lead to a public

health emergency designation in Libby.

“There’s nothing we can ever do to fully right

the unimaginable wrong that took place in Libby,” Baucus said. “But

I'm committed to the fight to make sure Libby gets the tools it

needs to clean up this disaster and care for everyone who has

suffered as a result.”

Since news reports first linked widespread

deaths and illness to exposure to deadly asbestos fibers at the

defunct W.R Grace and Co. mine, Baucus has visited Libby more than

20 times, secured millions for health care and cleanup, brought

numerous White House cabinet secretaries to the town, helped save

the Center for Asbestos Related Disease clinic, and has dogged the

Environmental Protection Agency to keep cleanup efforts moving

forward.

As the key author of health-care reform law,

Baucus fought to make sure the law included a mechanism for

residents of Libby and Lincoln County to access the health care

they were entitled to as victims of a public health emergency. As a

result, victims of asbestos exposure in Lincoln County began

getting care under Medicare in the spring of 2010.

Baucus will be presented the award at ADAO's

seventh annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference, which

will be held in Atlanta on April 1-3.