The EPA (which stands for Environmental Protection Agency) announced on Wednesday a nearly complete asbestos ban. For decades there have been regulations in place against asbestos, but these regulations had loopholes.They let a long list of asbestos products to be sold. These products have been abandoned by the industry, but if for some reason they started back up the EPA would have no power to stop them. Now, it does.
When this Significant New Use Rule (or SNUR) was proposed last summer some safety advocates were worried since EPA permits (under this regulation) were still allowed to be applied for to allow importing products containing asbestos. Despite that being true this is the best option because the EPA does not have authority enough to put in place an outright ban. But the regulations announced Wednesday are stricter than what the EPA originally proposed summer of 2018. The American Chemistry Council, an industry group, supports this regulation, saying it "will strengthen EPA's ability to regulate asbestos." The group also said that to get any permits from the EPA, a "rigorous safety reviews, regulation and restrictions" would be required. Andrew Wheeler, who works as an EPA administrator, said in a statement that this regulation will give EPA "unprecedented authorities to protect public health from domestic and imported asbestos products." Earlier in April Wheeler said that he would commit to stopping all current products with asbestos. The regulations that were announced Wednesday fall short of that. Gary Timm, who used to be an EPA official, and now works with the Environmental Protection Network, thinks this is a positive action made by the Trump administration. "Most of the things coming out of the EPA these days aren't good" he said. "But their asbestos work is well documented." He told the New York Times that “A complete ban is appropriate, but this [regulation] is an easier thing to do. … It’s a partial step, a first step.” While some people have decided that these regulations are a whole lot better than the old rules some are quite angry about [the regulations] not being a complete ban. One woman, Linda Reinstein who is the president of Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization said to the New York Times (when referring to the regulations) that they were “toothless”. These rules allow raw asbestos materials to be imported to the United States. According to a recent report by the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries, 300 tons of raw asbestos was imported in 2017. Even more surprising, almost all or it was used by the chloralkali industry. A lot of countries have already completely banned asbestos, including the United Kingdom and Australia. A lot of people think that a total ban is necessary here, too. In fact, Dr Raja Flores who works at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York actually wrote an op-ed about the need for a total ban. It’s disappointing that this is not a total ban, but it is a whole lot better that the old regulations . What does this have to do with you? Asbestos is a substance that is mined for its prized string-like fibers. But it is also known to cause mesothelioma, which causes 3,000 deaths annually. If you think that there is asbestos in your home or building call us at 773-345-7074.
When this Significant New Use Rule (or SNUR) was proposed last summer some safety advocates were worried since EPA permits (under this regulation) were still allowed to be applied for to allow importing products containing asbestos. Despite that being true this is the best option because the EPA does not have authority enough to put in place an outright ban. But the regulations announced Wednesday are stricter than what the EPA originally proposed summer of 2018. The American Chemistry Council, an industry group, supports this regulation, saying it "will strengthen EPA's ability to regulate asbestos." The group also said that to get any permits from the EPA, a "rigorous safety reviews, regulation and restrictions" would be required. Andrew Wheeler, who works as an EPA administrator, said in a statement that this regulation will give EPA "unprecedented authorities to protect public health from domestic and imported asbestos products." Earlier in April Wheeler said that he would commit to stopping all current products with asbestos. The regulations that were announced Wednesday fall short of that. Gary Timm, who used to be an EPA official, and now works with the Environmental Protection Network, thinks this is a positive action made by the Trump administration. "Most of the things coming out of the EPA these days aren't good" he said. "But their asbestos work is well documented." He told the New York Times that “A complete ban is appropriate, but this [regulation] is an easier thing to do. … It’s a partial step, a first step.” While some people have decided that these regulations are a whole lot better than the old rules some are quite angry about [the regulations] not being a complete ban. One woman, Linda Reinstein who is the president of Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization said to the New York Times (when referring to the regulations) that they were “toothless”. These rules allow raw asbestos materials to be imported to the United States. According to a recent report by the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries, 300 tons of raw asbestos was imported in 2017. Even more surprising, almost all or it was used by the chloralkali industry. A lot of countries have already completely banned asbestos, including the United Kingdom and Australia. A lot of people think that a total ban is necessary here, too. In fact, Dr Raja Flores who works at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York actually wrote an op-ed about the need for a total ban. It’s disappointing that this is not a total ban, but it is a whole lot better that the old regulations . What does this have to do with you? Asbestos is a substance that is mined for its prized string-like fibers. But it is also known to cause mesothelioma, which causes 3,000 deaths annually. If you think that there is asbestos in your home or building call us at 773-345-7074.
