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Government Medicine United States

EPA Bans Chrysotile Asbestos (apnews.com) 98

Posted by BeauHD from the decades-overdue dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products. The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled regulations governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture. The new rule would ban chrysotile asbestos, the only ongoing use of asbestos in the United States. The substance is found in products such as brake linings and gaskets and is used to manufacture chlorine bleach and sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda, including some that is used for water purification. [...]

The 2016 law authorized new rules for tens of thousands of toxic chemicals found in everyday products, including substances such as asbestos and trichloroethylene that for decades have been known to cause cancer yet were largely unregulated under federal law. Known as the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, the law was intended to clear up a hodgepodge of state rules governing chemicals and update the Toxic Substances Control Act, a 1976 law that had remained unchanged for 40 years. The EPA banned asbestos in 1989, but the rule was largely overturned by a 1991 Court of Appeals decision that weakened the EPA's authority under TSCA to address risks to human health from asbestos or other existing chemicals. The 2016 law required the EPA to evaluate chemicals and put in place protections against unreasonable risks. Asbestos, which was once common in home insulation and other products, is banned in more than 50 countries, and its use in the U.S. has been declining for decades. The only form of asbestos known to be currently imported, processed or distributed for use in the U.S. is chrysotile asbestos, which is imported primarily from Brazil and Russia. It is used by the chlor-alkali industry, which produces bleach, caustic soda and other products. Most consumer products that historically contained chrysotile asbestos have been discontinued. While chlorine is a commonly used disinfectant in water treatment, there are only eight chlor-alkali plants in the U.S. that still use asbestos diaphragms to produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide. The plants are mostly located in Louisiana and Texas.

The use of asbestos diaphragms has been declining and now accounts for less than one-third of the chlor-alkali production in the U.S., the EPA said. The EPA rule will ban imports of asbestos for chlor-alkali as soon as the rule is published but will phase in prohibitions on chlor-alkali use over five or more years to provide what the agency called "a reasonable transition period." A ban on most other uses of asbestos will effect in two years. A ban on asbestos in oilfield brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes and linings and other gaskets will take effect in six months. The EPA rule allows asbestos-containing sheet gaskets to be used until 2037 at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina to ensure that safe disposal of nuclear materials can continue on schedule. Separately, the EPA is also evaluating so-called legacy uses of asbestos in older buildings, including schools and industrial sites, to determine possible public health risks. A final risk evaluation is expected by the end of the year.
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EPA Bans Chrysotile Asbestos More

EPA Bans Chrysotile Asbestos

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  • This is a sad day for Chrysotile Asbestos

  • I think asbestos is the least of your worries if you work in a bleach factory...

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by stooo ( 2202012 )

      thanks to regulations removing asbestos from that work environment, yes, true.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dbialac ( 320955 )
        I think you probably have a good chance of knowing the risks of asbestos if you work in a bleach factory. I think there are some environments where using asbestos makes sense, or even required, and there are others that don't. We already outlawed the latter. Regardless, the new rule in general is idiotic. For example, not putting asbestos on brake pads is going to make trucks fall off a cliff easier as their brakes won't cool off. Those pull of ramps exist on mountains for a reason and making brakes hotter

        • I think you probably have a good chance of knowing the risks of asbestos if you work in a bleach factory. I think there are some environments where using asbestos makes sense, or even required, and there are others that don't. We already outlawed the latter. Regardless, the new rule in general is idiotic. For example, not putting asbestos on brake pads is going to make trucks fall off a cliff easier as their brakes won't cool off. Those pull of ramps exist on mountains for a reason and making brakes hotter (worse) is going to cause trucks use them more often. This will in turn cause more deaths to both truckers and more likely the passengers in cars who are in the way of the out of control truck. So to be clear, worse brakes = more deaths. Are you sure you want to be on the road with that truck, especially with your kids and other family members as passengers?

          Not a lot of asbestos in brake linings any more, other than for really cheap stuff bought from China. There are a lot of options that work well. Organic, Ceramic, and semi metallic.

          I use ceramic on my Jeep, and they stop better than asbestos, last longer, are gentler on the rotors and are quieter. And for your example of falling off a cliff - My Jeep and I are in that situation sometimes, and I'm quite thankful for my ceramic pads. 8^)

    • Who benefits?

      China.

      The US only has 5% of the world consumers but can be producers for almost 75%.

      Unless it's banned.

      They include China in "global south" so they don't get sanctioned globally for anything.

    • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

      by geekmux ( 1040042 )

      I think asbestos is the least of your worries if you work in a bleach factory...

      Tell me again how asbestos exposure is still questionable regarding harm, because I’m starting to wonder about all these bleach alternatives.

      I remember when the margarine pimps sold me that butter was worse for you too.

      • Re:But why? (Score:5, Informative)

        by HBI ( 10338492 ) on Tuesday March 19, 2024 @08:58AM (#64327359)

        There are different forms of asbestos. The kind that was used as shingles on houses and is still present in many places is of little consequence, as it doesn't break up into tiny fibers that get inhaled, which is the mechanical means by which the bad effects of asbestos happen. The term used is 'friable', meaning easily broken up by hand and crumbly. In my state (MD) you can dump this stuff at the local landfill after removing it yourself.

        Those supporting chrysotile make the argument that the form used is nonfriable and therefore doesn't shed fibers, and therefore does not cause the asbestos-related illnesses accompanying other forms of asbestos. The lobbyists working against it use the term 'could cause', implying you could put the stuff in a crusher or something and turn it into fibers, which is true enough I suppose.

        • Not really sure where you got your information. I have worked in asbestos labs for over 30 years. Chrysotile was used extensively because it is naturally fibrous and friable. If you bind it into certain materials is will lose friability, but it can still be released (sawing through a floor tile for example). Chrysotile was used extensively as a filler in many materials. The most concern in finished out living spaces would probably be popcorn ceiling texture and the backing on linoleum, but the threat would

        • The lobbyists working against it use the term 'could cause', implying you could put the stuff in a crusher or something and turn it into fibers, which is true enough I suppose.

          If it's in brake linings, it WILL be turned into a fine, airborne dust. That's how brakes work.

  • Nooo! (Score:3)

    by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Tuesday March 19, 2024 @12:54AM (#64326799)

    The EPA is taking away everything nice. It was my favorite asbestos, and by far the best tasting. Those flaky filaments have a cotton candy texture to it. Tastes like something between rubber and cement. Top it off with some epoxy glue .. mmm mm mmm .. Delicious!

    • you can still eat it. You even get paid for it.
      You have only to declare a business of asbestos decontamination for buildings.

      • Your shit would become classified as "hazardous waste". Fly-dumping of hazardous waste gets people jailed regularly. Not frequently enough - only a handful a year, out of many possible cases - but enough to keep the prospect of jail time in the public perception, and weakening "I didn't realise it was serious" attempts at defence.

  • WTF?! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by VeryFluffyBunny ( 5037285 ) on Tuesday March 19, 2024 @03:30AM (#64326947)
    Is this a story from the 1980s or has the USA been knowingly poisoning its citizens for over 40 years?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ledow ( 319597 )

      Seriously, do you need to even ask?

      Where's the profit in keeping people alive a few years more when they can get asbestosis and spend a fortune on healthcare?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by stooo ( 2202012 )

      Why only 40 years ?

    • What do you mean, knowingly? I've never heard of asbestos causing trouble other than as inhaled insulation particles. I am of course willing to learn.

      • Inhaling any form of asbestos, in any amount, is bad news. Asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma are just a few of the reasons why. And the resulting sequelae can take a long time, sometimes several decades, to manifest.

        • Sure, but inhaling anything is bad news. Even stuff like powdered sugar, nevermind that it dissolves, causes cancer. Even oxygen, despite we need it to live, we need antioxidants to prevent it from killing us. Asbestos insulation particles are known to be particularly bad to breathe, because they are stabby -- but that damage mechanism wouldn't translate to drinking it, at least not if it can't get past the cells destined to get sloughed off. And we aren't, for example, banning sand because it causes silico

      • What do you mean, knowingly? I've never heard of asbestos causing trouble other than as inhaled insulation particles. I am of course willing to learn.

        I'm just curious as to why you think "insulation" is the relevant term here rather than "asbestos"? Insulation isn't what causes asbestosis, asbestos does. And yes car mechanics have died of it too (especially those who used to blow out brake pads with compressed air).

      • I'm not biting. You can troll all you like... like a twat if you want. But that's all it is. I don't feed trolls.

        • It's OK if you don't know either, both of us are too lazy to look it up, but at least I'm not rude about it.

    • I've seen a couple dozen of these no brainer EPA decisions and they always get overturned by the courts a few months later. Corporations with the help of a think tank called The heritage foundation and a ton of money from billionaires have completely packed the courts. In 6 months this will get ruled unconstitutional and unless you're following politics to an unhealthy degree you won't hear about it

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sims 2 ( 994794 )

      You do know that the majority of small planes still use leaded fuel right? We CBA to even do anything about that.

      Under the last president we were desperately trying to find new uses for asbestos.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        You do know that the majority of small planes still use leaded fuel right? We CBA to even do anything about that.

        Under the last president we were desperately trying to find new uses for asbestos.

        Leaded fuel is being phased out by 2030. Many good reasons for this, including the fact that avgas is the last leaded fuel on the planet. The lead is produced by one refinery in the UK, and there is only one refinery in Louisiana that can produce the world's supply of avgas for a year.

        Handling leaded gas is hard, it

  • Greenpeace Lite (Score:1, Interesting)

    by bill_mcgonigle ( 4333 ) *

    Greenpeace, the formerly-Soviet-funded psyop, is still calling for worldwide ban on chlorine. This is the most the current administration could get done on that front.

    One of Greenpeace's founders left in 1986 over this issue because it would cause the deaths of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

    Watch the psychos here cheer it on anyway because those people are poor and dark and from far away. They would trade a few suspected domestic cancers for millions of dead babies abroad.

    For the sake of those p

  • My father has scarred lungs due to this crap. He was sent to W.R. Grace without any PPE or masks for his job (and luckily hasn't been diagnosed with Mesothelioma) but he constantly coughs like he's choking on his own blood. It's sad, as his job was another large company out there (Stars with Honey, ends in Well) as a senior systems analyst and programmer. So many dangerous things like High Voltage access (without electricians license), but the biggest damaging to him, health wise, was being in an asbestos

  • Here in San Jose CA, we have a development called "Communications Hill" which is a big mound of asbestos. https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home... [sanjoseca.gov] In our infinite wisdom we decided the best course of action would be to scrape the foliage and topsoil off to build homes! The dust and asbestos that's kicked up rains all over south San Jose.
    • Wow San Jose has it all- asbestos, mercury, what else could you want? Another site is pretty much anywhere west of Coalinga in central California. Look up New Idria, where the dirt is 15% asbestos. Oh and there's an off road area there.

      • Wow San Jose has it all- asbestos, mercury, what else could you want?

        Another site is pretty much anywhere west of Coalinga in central California. Look up New Idria, where the dirt is 15% asbestos. Oh and there's an off road area there.

        Yep, nasty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

        A bit like the former asbestos mining town of Wittenoom, in Western Australia. Fun fact - Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, inherited her wealth from the guy who helped open asbestos mining in the area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

        A really grubby, greedy, selfish family.

  • Asbestos naturally occurs alongside gypsum. A federal law was made that any gypsum containing less than 1% asbestos can be labeled "asbestos free." For a long time, this was called "The Grace Rule," as lobbyists from Grace Construction sponsored the legislation. I can no longer find that phrase online, but I did find that in Osha standard 1926.1101(b) [osha.gov] Definitions: it says "Asbestos-containing material (ACM), means any material containing more than one percent asbestos." So, it's worth thinking about the
    • The legal definition of ACM has always been "greater than one percent asbestos" no matter the material. At the time they were not sure if asbestos contents below 1% could be accurately and consistently detected. A mineral must be a fibrous to be considered asbestiform, so chemical analysis is usually not sufficient. You have to use a microscope and observe fibers. Gypsum generally does not have a problem with asbestos contamination, though talc and vermiculite do. A much more common issue is the various bu
  • There are several minerals classified as asbestos ; this ruling talks about just one of them - chrysotile.

    Chrysotile is a hydrated magnesium silicate mineral, in the "serpentine" structural group (based on -Si2O5(OH)4 structures). It's the most-used of the asbestos minerals.

    By inference, the other asbestos minerals aren't affected by this legislative change. They are actinolite, amosite ("brown asbestos"), anthophyllite, crocidolite ("blue asbestos"), and tremolite. All are structurally classified as "amp

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