FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 22, 2024

ADAO FILES PETITION IN DC CIRCUIT COURT TO STRENGTHEN EPA’S PART 1 CHRYSOTILE ASBESTOS RULE, ADVOCATING FOR COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTIONS

ADAO Seeks to Amend EPA’s Asbestos Regulation, Citing Inadequate Protection for Public & Environmental Health

April 22, 2024 —Washington, DC — The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an independent nonprofit dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure through education and advocacy, has filed a Petition for Review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “Part 1 Chrysotile Asbestos: Regulation of Certain Conditions of Use Under the Toxic Substances Control Act.”

The rule acknowledges the lethal effects of chrysotile asbestos, a known carcinogen. It includes critically important safety measures such as phasing out six recognized uses of asbestos, prohibiting asbestos imports by the chlor-alkali industry, and establishing an Existing Chemical Exposure Limit (ECEL) to reduce workplace exposure. However, the rule needs to go further to fully protect workers, consumers, and communities at risk of asbestos exposure. 

“While we support and will defend the important protections provided by the Part 1 rule, it currently falls short of fully safeguarding the public from asbestos risks,” said Linda Reinstein, president of ADAO. “Our legal action is not oppositional; it is a proactive call for the EPA to strengthen the rule so it better protects Americans from the known dangers of asbestos.”

Asbestos exposure is known to cause mesothelioma and cancers of the lung, larynx, and ovaries, as well as non-cancer lung disease. There is no safe level of exposure to the deadly chemical, and more than 40,000 Americans continue to die from asbestos-related diseases each year.  

Among the concerns that ADAO and its co-petitioners will raise about the lack of protective measures in the rule are that it: 

  • Allows one chlor-alkali producer an unwarranted 12 years to phase out asbestos use when non-asbestos technology is available to complete the transition several years sooner; 
  • Allows hundreds of thousands of asbestos gaskets to remain in use indefinitely in refineries, chemical plants, pipelines and other facilities without protecting workers during releases of asbestos fibers to work areas;
  • Provides no protections to do-it-yourself consumers and auto mechanics who are exposed to asbestos during servicing and repair of existing vehicles containing asbestos brakes, linings, and other friction parts;
  • Fails to address releases of asbestos to air, water and soil and during on and off-site disposal of asbestos-containing waste at facilities subject to the rule, even though chlor-alkali plants are concentrated in environmental justice communities in Texas and Louisiana. 

While ADAO is fighting to protect public health from lethal asbestos, it was disappointed to learn the American Chemistry Council and its state-based affiliates from Georgia, Ohio, and Texas filed petitions on April 18th in three circuit courts of appeals seeking to weaken the Part 1 rule. 

“Industry’s attacks on the Part 1 rule are another chapter in a long and troubling history of denying well-established science showing the dangers of all asbestos fibers and using the courts to oppose and delay actions to transition away from asbestos technology.  We will strongly oppose industry’s baseless arguments to weaken the rule and roll back essential measures that protect public health and safety,” stated Reinstein.

“This legal challenge is a vital step toward holding the EPA accountable. EPA has taken important steps toward reducing asbestos risks but can and should do more. While defending the positive aspects of the rule from unjustified attacks by industry, we will be addressing critical gaps in the rule that leave workers and the public at unnecessary risk,”  added Bob Sussman, ADAO’s counsel and former EPA senior official. 

Presently, individual co-petitioners include: Henry A. Anderson, MD; Brad Black, MD; Barry Castleman, ScD; Raja Flores, MD; Arthur Frank, MD, PhD; Phil Landrigan, MD, MSc.; Richard Lemen, PhD, MSPH; Steven Markowitz, MD, DrPH; Jacqueline Moline, MD, MSc; Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH; Christine Oliver, MD, MPH, MSc ; Dan Whu, MD, MPH (IAFF); and Andrea Wolf, MD. 

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ABOUT THE ASBESTOS DISEASE AWARENESS ORGANIZATION 

Founded in 2004, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is the largest independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the U.S. dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure and eliminating asbestos-related diseases through education, advocacy, and community initiatives.