Bullet Dodged: Trump Administration Not Reversing Asbestos Ban
The Trump administration will back a ban of the last type of asbestos allowed in US manufacturing, according to a court filing. When a prior filing stating a proposed delayed ban may not happen, it was widely criticized by asbestos victims’ groups and anyone who understands asbestos health hazards.
The Associated Press reports the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated in a July court filing it will defend the Biden administration’s ban of chrysotile asbestos in litigation brought by business groups who wish to continue to use mineral fibers that kill more than 200,000 people worldwide annually.
Asbestos has mostly been phased out of use in the US. Last year, the EPA under former President Joe Biden sought a comprehensive ban phased in over time. Asbestos use is banned in more than 50 countries, but it is still allowed in the US after a prior ban was overturned by court action in 1991.
The EPA stated in a federal appeals court filing in June that some of the ban may go “beyond what is necessary to eliminate the unreasonable risk” because other options, like workplace protection measures, might end that risk. The agency stated at the time it planned a process that could take about two and a half years to write new rules. Now the agency states it won’t take that step.
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