Asbestos

EPA Washington, DC

Following EPA’s June 2016 designation of asbestos as one of the first ten chemicals to undergo risk evaluation under TSCA, as amended by Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, EPA initially focused the risk evaluation for asbestos on chrysotile asbestos as this is the only asbestos fiber type that is currently imported, processed, or distributed in the U.S. However, as a result of the November 2019 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Safer Chemicals Healthy Families v. EPA, EPA plans to evaluate legacy uses and associated disposals, other types of asbestos fibers in addition to chrysotile, and conditions of use of asbestos in talc and talc-containing products in a supplemental effort that is the focus of part 2 of the risk evaluation for asbestos. 

For the full text, click here.

To access the Draft Risk Evaluation, click here.

ABC Montana Right Now

Libby, MT –  In December 2021, an article was accepted for publication in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine which looked at mortality rates of Libby asbestos workers and local residents between 2000 and 2010. Co-authored by nationwide collaborators and Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD) staff, the article, after presenting the history of the asbestos public health emergency in Libby, looked at death certificate and record review data for the 203 patients exposed to Libby Amphibole and diagnosed with either asbestos related cancers or non-malignant asbestos related lung disease who died during this time frame. 

Click here for the full article.

National Law Review Washington, DC

On December 16, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted to the Office of Management Budget (OMB) a proposed rule under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) on asbestos (part 1: chrysotile asbestos). According to an item in the fall 2021 Unified Agenda, the TSCA Section 6(a) rulemaking is needed to address the unreasonable risks of chrysotile asbestos that were identified in a risk evaluation completed under TSCA Section 6(b). 

Click here for the full article. 

Chemical and Engineering News National

When dealing with asbestos waste, digging up and removing large amounts of contaminated soil can be risky, as it can send asbestos fibers into the air. So, rather than remove all the contaminated dirt, the EPA often caps a site with more soil. Scientists thought that these soil caps would trap the long, thin fibers and prevent them from escaping. But a new peer-reviewed laboratory study shows a potential escape route for these fibers. The findings, first presented as preliminary data in 2016, demonstrate that the presence of certain organic material in soil can actually enhance the mobility of asbestos fibers. Click here for the full article. 

Montana Standard David McCumber

Washington, DC – For the first time, an asbestos-ban bill in Congress may have the sponsorship of a Republican senator — Montana’s Steve Daines — signaling improved chances of passage. Even though asbestos has been a known human carcinogen for more than a century, it is legal in the United States to import, manufacture, and market products containing the deadly fibers. The issue is of particular concern in Montana because of widespread contamination and hundreds of deaths in and near Libby from a vermiculite mine, the ore of which was contaminated with a particularly dangerous form of asbestos. Click here for the full article. 

KXAN by David Barer and Avery Travis Austin, TX

Firefighters raced to the scene of a north Austin city-owned warehouse fire on the afternoon of May 6, arriving within five minutes of the first call. But it wasn’t until a third alarm unit arrived a little over an hour later that crews were told the smoke swirling around the warehouse could be laced with asbestos, according to internal city documents that reveal new details of the incident that potentially exposed 115 firefighters and civilians to the cancer-causing building materal. 

Click here for the full text.

Asbestos.com by Tim Povtak Washington, DC

Under pressure from a multistate coalition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to tighten its data collection process for asbestos, moving the country another step closer to banning the toxic substance. The agreement comes six months after a U.S. District Court judge in California ruled the EPA must improve its ineffective data collection on asbestos imports, and two years after attorneys general in multiple states challenged in court the EPA’s lack of more restrictive asbestos regulations. 

Click here for the full text.

Washington, DC

EPA  invites environmental justice communities and stakeholders to participate in environmental justice consultations regarding the development of risk management actions under section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for Asbestos, Part 1: Chrysotile Asbestos and PV29. The environmental justice consultation period will extend from today through August 13, 2021. The agency will hold two identical consultation webinars, one on June 1, 2021, and the other on June 9, 2021. EPA is offering these repeated sessions to increase opportunities for participation. Both sessions will provide an overview of the TSCA risk management requirements, the findings from the final risk evaluations, the tools available to manage the unreasonable risks from Asbestos, Part 1: Chrysotile Asbestos and PV29, and an opportunity for input on environmental justice concerns. These consultations are open to the public, and EPA is inviting national, local, and non-governmental organizations, communities, and other interested stakeholders to participate. 

Find registration information for the environmental justice consultations and more information on EPA’s risk management outreach at https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-management-existing-chemicals-under-tsca 

For the full article, click here.

Department of Justice by Cameron Ayers

National – The EPA is on the cusp of a settlement with anti-asbestos activists, one that eventually would require asbestos importers to once again report exposure and use data. During a virtual court hearing April 15, a Justice Department representative announced that the EPA has reached an agreement in principle to settle with the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) and other entities that sued the agency over its regulation of asbestos. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), companies that produce or import toxic chemicals must disclose exposure and use data to the agency as specified by the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. Asbestos was one such chemical until the agency exempted it from the requirements in 2017. 

Click here for the full text.

E&E News by Jacqueline Qyunh

Denver, CO – Denver Parks and Recreation crews are working to clean-up asbestos after Ruby Hill Park visitors tore up turf that may have exposed some of the cancer-causing material. The park was targeted by vandals after last weekend’s blizzard. An epic snowstorm, may have left behind a historic amount of damage to Ruby Hill, a well-known local spot for sledding. Parks and Recreation crews are mapping out the park for repairs, but some decided they didn’t want to obey the rules and drove around the barriers. Click here for the full text.