USA bans last type of asbestos still in use – 03/18/2024 – Health

The Biden government finalized this Monday (18) a ban on the only type of asbestos still used in the United States. This is the first time since 1989 that the country’s federal government has taken significant action to restrict toxic industrial material.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations should prohibit the use, manufacture and import of chrysotile asbestos, which is associated with lung cancer and mesothelioma — a cancer that forms in the lining of some internal organs.

Chrysotile is the only raw form of asbestos known to be currently imported, processed, or distributed for use in the United States. Known as white asbestos, the mineral is used in roofing materials, textiles and cement, as well as in gaskets, clutches, brake pads and other automotive parts. It is also a component in diaphragms used to make chlorine.

In some ways, the ban is a weaker version of a proposal announced by the agency in 2022, which called for a two-year phase-out for most commercial uses.

The rule must now call for the import ban to begin as soon as the measure takes effect. But it will give companies up to 12 years to eliminate the use of asbestos in manufacturing, depending on the facility. The move followed lobbying efforts from companies including Olin Corp., a major chemical maker, as well as trade groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chemistry Council.

“With today’s ban, EPA is finally closing the door on a chemical so dangerous that it has been banned in more than 50 countries,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a phone call with reporters. “President (Joe) Biden understands that this concern has spanned generations and impacted the lives of countless people.”

Health advocates who have fought for decades to ban all forms of asbestos said the new rule is insufficient. Mesothelioma disproportionately affects firefighters, who are exposed to asbestos through damaged buildings and have a much higher risk of developing the cancer than the general population.

The American Chemistry Council, a lobbying organization, had called for 15 years to eliminate the use of asbestos. The council said eliminating the use of asbestos in the manufacturing of drinking water treatment components “would cause substantial harm to America’s drinking water supply and unwarranted alarm to products on the market that are essential to ongoing climate, sustainability and infrastructure projects.”