EPA will revisit Biden-era ban on the last type of asbestos used in US
[June 18, 2025]
By MICHAEL PHILLIS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency told a federal
appeals court it will reconsider the Biden administration's ban on the
last type of asbestos used in the United States to determine whether it
went “beyond what is necessary."
Asbestos is linked to tens of thousands of deaths annually and causes
mesothelioma as well as other cancers. It has been largely phased out in
the United States. Last year, the Biden administration sought to finish
the decades-long fight by banning chrysotile asbestos. At the time, the
EPA called it a milestone in the fight against cancer.
The EPA on Monday said in a court filing that it would reconsider the
Biden administration's rule over roughly the next 30 months. The agency
said the Toxic Substances Control Act requires it to evaluate a
chemical's risk and the consequences of restricting it.
Now, officials will look at whether parts of the ban “went beyond what
is necessary to eliminate the unreasonable risk and whether alternative
measures — such as requiring permanent workplace protection measures —
would eliminate the unreasonable risk,” according to a court declaration
by Lynn Ann Dekleva, a senior official in EPA's Office of Chemical
Safety and Pollution Prevention.
Chrysotile asbestos is found in products like brake blocks, asbestos
diaphragms and sheet gaskets and was banned under the Toxic Substances
Control Act, which was broadened in 2016. When the ban was announced,
there were eight U.S. facilities that used asbestos diaphragms in the
chlor-alkali sector for the manufacture of chlorine and sodium
hydroxide, chemicals commonly used as water disinfectants. The
facilities were given at least five years to make the change.
The development was first reported by The New York Times.
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Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., President-elect Donald Trump's pick
to head the Environmental Protection Agency, appears before the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill, Jan.
16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Advocates blasted the move as weakening prohibitions against a
deadly carcinogen.
“This latest move by Administrator Lee Zeldin and EPA is yet another
alarming signal that this administration is operating without limits
as they dole out favors to polluter lobbyists without regard for the
health and well-being of people living in the US,” said Michelle
Roos, executive director of the Environmental Protection Network, a
nonprofit.
Zeldin has announced dozens of deregulatory actions in the first
months of the Trump administration and former top industry officials
are in key EPA positions — Dekleva, for example, used to work at the
American Chemistry Council, which was among the groups that filed
the court challenge against the Biden administration's ban.
Recently, the EPA proposed a rollback of greenhouse gas rules for
coal plants.
The American Chemistry Council said it supports the agency's move to
ensure rules “use a risk-based approach consistent with the best
available science.”
The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment late
Tuesday.
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