EPA Finally Bans Asbestos
On March 18, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a comprehensive ban on the last and most common type of asbestos still in use, chrysotile asbestos.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan proclaimed the final rule a major step to protect public health:
“With today’s ban, EPA is finally slamming the door on a chemical so dangerous that has been banned in over 50 countries […] President Biden understands that this concern that has spanned generations and impacted the lives of countless people.”
Ending the continual use, manufacture, and import of chrysotile advances the goals of the Biden Administration's Cancer Moonshot government initiative.
As the Union of Concerned Scientists, while this administration does deserve credit for acting on asbestos after years of neglect, it is more accurate to describe the White House as politely showing the door to companies who use what is nicknamed "white asbestos."
Their excellent article "A Triumph and Disgrace: The Very Slow Road to Banning Asbestos" provides a detailed history.
Despite the milestone of this long overdue regulation, the EPA is imposing compliance with different deadlines, up to 12 years for certain industries, to phase out the use of asbestos. Critics are calling the ban insufficient due to the long transition period pushed by lobbying efforts by the chlor-alkali industry. Ultimately, Congress would need to enact legislation for meaningful protections of public health for the long term.
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