US Bans Last Type of Asbestos in Use Here

The EPA on Monday announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a carcinogen that's still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads, and other products and that kills thousands of Americans every year, per the AP. The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled regulations governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products. However, it gives companies up to 12 years to phase out use, notes the New York Times.

• The new rule would ban chrysotile asbestos, the only ongoing use of asbestos in the United States. The substance is found in products such as brake linings and gaskets and is used to manufacture chlorine bleach and sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda.

• Exposure to asbestos is known to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other cancers, and it's linked to more than 40,000 deaths in the US each year. "With today's ban, [the] EPA is finally slamming the door on a chemical so dangerous that [it] has been banned in over 50 countries,'' said EPA chief Michael Regan.
• The 2016 law authorized new rules for tens of thousands of toxic chemicals found in everyday products, including substances such as asbestos and trichloroethylene that for decades have been known to cause cancer, yet were largely unregulated under federal law. Known as the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, the law was intended to clear up a hodgepodge of state rules governing chemicals and update the Toxic Substances Control Act, a 1976 law that had remained unchanged for 40 years.
• The EPA banned asbestos in 1989, but the rule was largely overturned by a 1991 court decision that weakened the EPA's authority under the TSCA to address risks to human health from asbestos or other existing chemicals. The 2016 law required the EPA to evaluate chemicals and put in place protections against unreasonable risks.
• Use of asbestos, which was once common in home insulation and other products, has been declining for decades in the US. The only form of asbestos known to be currently imported, processed, or distributed for use in the US is chrysotile asbestos, which is imported primarily from Brazil and Russia.

(More asbestos stories.)