Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Chemical Regulation

U.S. EPA proposes restriction of asbestos

New uses would be restricted, but industry’s current use of carcinogenic mineral can continue

by Cheryl Hogue
June 4, 2018

Photo shows signs in English and Spanish taped to a wall reading, "Asbestos: cancer and lung disease hazard, keep out, authorized personnel only, repirators and protective clothing are required in this area."
Credit: 
Karin Hildebrand Lau/Shutterstock

For the first time in decades, U.S. EPA is moving to control the carcinogenic mineral asbestos, the agency announced June 2. EPA’s plan would give a pass, at least for now, to industries that currently use the mineral, including the nation’s biggest users of asbestos, manufacturers of chlor-alkali chemicals. Much of the nation’s chlor-alkali production employs asbestos diaphragms to separate chlorine from other chemicals.

The agency’s plan would require notification from companies that intend to use asbestos in adhesives, roof coatings, missile liners, fuel cells and batteries, and other applications that were once common in the U.S. but have been mostly phased out.

The notification requirement would also apply to companies putting asbestos to novel uses. That would trigger a 90-day EPA evaluation of the intended new use. During that time, the agency could impose restrictions, such as disposal requirements, on the new use or ban it.

Separately, EPA is evaluating the risks of current uses of asbestos in the U.S., which include the asbestos gaskets fabricated for the chlor-alkali industry, sheet gaskets used in titanium dioxide chemical production, aftermarket automotive brakes, and cement products. The results of that examination will determine whether the agency will restrict or ban those uses or allow them to continue.

EPA’s actions come decades after the agency banned asbestos in 1989. But a federal court threw out the ban in 1991 on the basis of weaknesses in the Toxic Substances Control Act that limited its ability to prohibit uses of chemicals. Congress eventually rewrote that language in the landmark 2016 revision of TSCA, strengthening EPA’s authority to ban or restrict commercial substances, including asbestos.

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.