E.P.A. Plans to Reconsider a Ban on Cancer-Causing Asbestos
The Trump administration plans to reconsider a ban on the last type of asbestos still used in the United States, according to a court filing on Monday.
The move, which could halt enforcement of the ban for several years during the reconsideration, is a major blow to a decades-long battle by health advocates to prohibit the carcinogenic mineral in all its forms.
Known as 'white' asbestos, chrysotile asbestos is banned in more than 50 countries for its link to lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer that forms in the lining of internal organs. White asbestos, however, has been imported for use in the United States for roofing materials, textiles and cement as well as gaskets, clutches, brake pads and other automotive parts. It is also used in chlorine manufacturing.
Last year the Environmental Protection Agency, under President Joseph R. Biden, adopted a ban on the use, manufacture and import of chrysotile asbestos. It was the first legal constraint on a deadly substance since 2016, when Congress updated and strengthened the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act by requiring testing and regulation of thousands of chemicals used in everyday products.
The measure would have still allowed some manufacturers up to 12 years to phase out its use, a provision that followed lobbying efforts by trade groups like the American Chemistry Council.
Now, the Trump administration plans to delay the ban and reconsider the rule. That process is expected to take about 30 months, the E.P.A. said in a filing with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been reviewing an industry challenge to the rule.
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