FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Posted on December 8, 2023
Statement from Linda Reinstein, President and Co-Founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, on the Progress of EPA’s Part 1 Chrysotile Asbestos Final Rule
The following statement is from Linda Reinstein, President and Co-Founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, regarding EPA’s Part 1 Chrysotile Asbestos Final Rule, which EPA submitted to the White House Office of Budget and Management for interagency review on Dec. 6.
Washington, DC —The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is pleased that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Part 1 Chrysotile Asbestos Final Rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has been submitted to the White House Office of Budget and Management for a 90-day regulatory review, the final stage in the rulemaking process before the rule is issued.
This rule results from the EPA risk evaluation for chrysotile asbestos, which determined that this asbestos fiber type poses unreasonable health risks to workers, occupational non-users, consumers, and bystanders for six conditions of use, including chlor-alkali production.
While a landmark step towards protecting Americans from the threat of deadly asbestos, the final rule’s limited scope will leave open multiple pathways of exposure from other five asbestos fibers, actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, crocidolite, tremolite, and additional conditions of use not identified by EPA. This rule will fall short of the comprehensive ban on asbestos the United States needs to fully protect public health. Meanwhile, nearly 40,000 Americans die each year due to asbestos-caused illnesses, while 300 metric tons of asbestos were imported in 2022.
We expect this rule will be subject to litigation that could further delay or entirely prevent it from taking effect, which is why ADAO continues to fight for a complete ban on asbestos with the passage of the bipartisan Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act (ARBAN).
Although disappointed in this narrow chrysotile asbestos rule, we appreciate EPA’s dedication and hard work to protect public health and the environment from this killer fiber.
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ABOUT 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 to eliminate asbestos-related diseases through education, advocacy, and community initiatives.