Wednesday, September 9, 2020
ADAO Urges EPA Administrator Wheeler to Heed Strong Direction from of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals
EPA Draft Risk Evaluation Determined to be Flawed and Inadequate; SACC Urges EPA to Rework and Expand Evaluation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Linda Reinstein, president and co-founder of The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), released the following statement today urging EPA Administrator Wheeler to follow the direction of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals.
Today, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) sent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler a letter urging him to implement the comprehensive changes proposed by the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) EPA’s Draft Risk Evaluation on Asbestos in their entirety.
Four years ago, when the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act was signed into law, we had high hopes that EPA could and would do their job to protect Americans from asbestos, a known carcinogen that kills nearly 40,000 Americans every year.
These hopes have been dashed. Since the release of EPA’s July 2017 Scope of the Risk Evaluation for Asbestos document, we have been voicing our deep concerns that the draft evaluation presented an incomplete picture of the current impacts of asbestos on public health, underestimated exposure and risk, and used novel and questionable methodologies that departed from previous assessments by EPA and other expert bodies.
The SAAC has fully confirmed these concerns and recommended extensive revisions to the draft evaluation. EPA would be disregarding public health and its responsibilities under TSCA if it ignored these recommendations.
Nearly 70 countries have banned asbestos, yet imports and use in the U.S. continue. Government data has confirmed hundreds of metric tons of asbestos have been imported from Brazil and Russia for the chlor-alkali industry.
While EPA reviews the SACC Report, ADAO calls on Congress to expeditiously pass the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act of 2019, a bill that would ban all asbestos imports and use within the first year of enactment, would provide Americans with the right to know where asbestos is imported and used, and would study legacy asbestos found in structures.”
The letter to EPA Administrator Wheeler was signed by:
Arthur L. Frank MD, PhD, Co-Chair ADAO Scientific Advisory Board
Brent Kynoch, Environmental Information Association, Chair ADAO Prevention Advisory Board
Richard A. Lemen, Ph.D., MSPH, Assistant Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service (ret.) and Co-Chair ADAO Scientific Advisory Board
Celeste Monforton, DrPh, MPH, ADAO Science and Prevention Advisory Board Liaison
Linda Reinstein, ADAO President and CoFounder of ADAO
Robert Sussman, JD, ADAO Counsel
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About the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is a global leader in combining education, advocacy, and community initiatives to prevent and end asbestos exposure. ADAO seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos, advocate for an asbestos ban, and protect asbestos victims’ civil rights. ADAO, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, does not make legal referrals. For more information, visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.