(AGENPARL) – lun 18 marzo 2024 Issued: Mar 18, 2024 (12:31pm EDT)
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Biden-Harris Administration finalizes ban on ongoing uses of asbestos
to protect people from cancer
EPA’s ban is the first rule to be finalized under new Toxic Substance
Control Act process, marking historic milestone for nation’s chemical safety
efforts
WASHINGTON – Today, March 18, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) announced a final rule to prohibit ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos,
the only known form of asbestos currently used in or imported to the United
States. The ban on ongoing uses of asbestos is the first rule to be finalized
under the 2016 amendments to the nation’s chemical safety law, the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA), which received near-unanimous support in both
the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. The action marks a major
milestone for chemical safety after more than three decades of inadequate
protections and serious delays during the previous administration to implement
the 2016 amendments.
Exposure to asbestos is known to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, ovarian
cancer, and laryngeal cancer, and it is linked to more than 40,000 deaths in
the U.S. each year. Ending the ongoing uses advances the goals of President
Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, a whole-of-government initiative to end cancer as
we know it.
“The science is clear – asbestos is a known carcinogen that has severe
impacts on public health. President Biden understands that this concern that
has spanned generations and impacted the lives of countless people. That’s
why EPA is so proud to finalize this long-needed ban on ongoing uses of
asbestos,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Under the
President’s leadership, EPA has been working expeditiously to put the
nation’s chemical safety program back on track and finally realize the
protections of the 2016 law. This action is just the beginning as we work to
protect all American families, workers, and communities from toxic
chemicals.”
“Asbestos has harmed people across the country for decades, and under
President Biden’s leadership, we are taking decisive action to ban its use
and advance this administration’s historic environmental justice agenda,”
said White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory.
“This action marks a major step to improve chemical safety after decades of
inadequate protections, helping advance President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot
goal to end cancer as we know it.”
Chrysotile asbestos is found in products including asbestos diaphragms, sheet
gaskets, brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes/linings, other vehicle
friction products, and other gaskets. The use of asbestos in the United States
has been declining for decades, and its use is already banned in over 50
countries.
Although there are several known types of asbestos, the only form known to be
imported, processed, or distributed for use in the United States is
chrysotile. Raw chrysotile asbestos was imported into the United States as
recently as 2022 for use by the chlor-alkali industry. Most consumer products
that historically contained chrysotile asbestos have been discontinued.
“Today’s rule is a positive first step to give all Americans a future free
of exposure to asbestos – a carcinogen that has killed far too many. This
dangerous substance has been banned in more than 50 countries around the
world, and the United States is finally starting to catch up. An immediate ban
on the import of chrysotile asbestos for the chlor-alkali industry is a long
overdue step forward for public health. However, it cannot be the end of the
road when it comes to phasing out other dangerous asbestos fibers, and
Congress has a role to play here when it comes to providing stronger
protections for our health,” said Senator Jeff Merkley.
“It is long past time for the U.S. to ban asbestos, and unacceptable this
known carcinogen continues to threaten Americans and devastate families,”
said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. “I’ve been spent years advocating for
asbestos to be banned and am grateful for the steps the EPA is taking today to
finalize its rule to prohibit the import and use of chrysotile asbestos.
Banning asbestos will save lives.”
“The Biden Cancer Moonshot is a key pillar of the President’s Unity
Agenda. Cancer impacts nearly every American family, and it will take all of
us to reach the President and First Lady’s ambitious but achievable goals to
prevent more than four million cancer deaths by 2047 and improve the
experience of people who are touched by cancer. Banning the use of asbestos
will help prevent cancer before it begins—saving and improving American
lives across the country,” said Deputy Assistant to the President for the
Cancer Moonshot Dr. Danielle Carnival.
“It’s been more than 50 years since EPA first sought to ban some uses of
asbestos and we’re closer than ever to finishing the job,” said
Environmental Working Group senior vice president Scott Faber. “For too
long, polluters have been allowed to make, use, and release toxics like
asbestos and PFAS without regard for our health. Thanks to the leadership of
the Biden EPA, those days are finally over.” 
This public health protection is long overdue. A 1991 court decision that
largely struck down EPA’s 1989 ban on asbestos and significantly weakened
EPA’s authority under TSCA to address risks to human health from asbestos or
from any other existing chemical. The 2016 amendments to TSCA transformed the
law with clear requirements and a mandate to comprehensively prioritize and
evaluate the risks of chemicals and put in place strong and timely health
protections against any unreasonable risks.
EPA has set compliance deadlines to transition away from each use of
chrysotile asbestos, which are as soon as is practicable for each use while
also providing a reasonable transition period, which the law requires.
Chlor-alkali Sector
The chlor-alkali sector uses asbestos diaphragms to make sodium hydroxide and
chlorine, a critical use of which is to disinfect drinking water and
wastewater. There are other ways to disinfect water and other ways to produce
chlorine; in fact, two-thirds of the chlorine produced in the U.S. is produced
without using asbestos. While there are only eight chlor-alkali plants in the
United States that still use asbestos diaphragms, EPA must still ensure that
the eight facilities have a reasonable transition time for the phase out of
asbestos that does not inadvertently adversely impact drinking or wastewater
purification efforts.
EPA is banning the import of asbestos for chlor-alkali use immediately to
close the door forever on the use of asbestos by this sector. The eight
remaining facilities that use asbestos must transition to either non-asbestos
diaphragms or to non-asbestos membrane technology, and the final rule ensures
that six of the eight will have completed this transition within five years,
with the remaining two to follow.
EPA has determined that converting facilities from using diaphragms that
contain asbestos to those that do not within five years provides both a
reasonable transition time and is as soon as practicable without disrupting
the supply of chlorine that is needed for water purification purposes. EPA
also believes that five of the eight facilities likely plan to undergo such
conversions.
EPA has also determined that converting facilities from using diaphragms that
contain asbestos to non-asbestos membrane technology requires extensive
construction, additional permits, specialized expertise and parts for which
there are limited suppliers. EPA has therefore determined that a reasonable
transition time for companies that plan to transition multiple facilities to
non-asbestos membrane technology is five years to convert their first
facility, eight years to convert their second and 12 years to convert their
third, and the facilities will be required to certify their continued progress
with EPA.
Remaining Uses
The final rule also:
Bans most sheet gaskets that contain asbestos two years after the effective
date of the final rule, with five-year phase-outs for sheet gaskets to be used
to produce titanium dioxide and for the processing of nuclear material. 
Allows asbestos-containing sheet gaskets to continue to be used through CY
2037 at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site to ensure that the
safe disposal of nuclear materials can continue on schedule while continuing
to protect workers from exposure to radioactive materials.
Bans the use of asbestos in oilfield brake blocks, aftermarket automotive
brakes and linings, other vehicle friction products, and other gaskets six
months after the effective date of the final rule. 
EPA is requiring strict workplace safety measures to protect workers from
asbestos exposure during any phaseout periods longer than two years. EPA is
also ensuring that asbestos is disposed of properly, in line with industry
standards, Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements, and the
Asbestos National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants. The agency
is also requiring recordkeeping.
Separately, EPA is also evaluating other types of asbestos fibers (in addition
to legacy uses and associated disposal of chrysotile, and asbestos-containing
talc) in part 2 of the asbestos risk evaluation. EPA will release part 2 of
the draft risk evaluation soon and will publish the final risk evaluation by
Dec. 1, 2024.
Learn more about risk management for asbestos.
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