On July 6, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule requiring comprehensive reporting on all six fiber types of asbestos. The rule is part of EPA's efforts to decrease exposure and strengthen protections against the carcinogen across the U.S.
According to a press release, issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the rule will require asbestos manufacturers and processors to report information on use, exposure, and asbestos-containing products from the previous four years. The collected data will inform future actions related to asbestos, including risk evaluations and potential risk management activities.
“We know that exposure to asbestos causes cancer and other serious health problems that still result in thousands of people dying every year, and today we’re continuing our work to protect people from this dangerous chemical,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Michal Freedhoff, according to the press release. “We’ve already proposed to ban chrysotile asbestos, and the data we’ll receive from this final rule will help us to better evaluate and address the health risks from the remaining uses and types of asbestos.”
Under the rule, manufacturers and processors of asbestos with annual sales above $500,000 between 2019 and 2022 must report exposure-related information, including quantities of asbestos, types of use, and employee data. According to the press release, the rule covers asbestos-containing products and asbestos present as a component of a mixture. The affected entities have nine months after the rule's effective date to collect and submit the required information to the EPA.
This final reporting rule is part of the EPA's efforts to address the risks posed by asbestos, according to the press release. Previously, the agency's risk evaluation for asbestos focused on certain uses of one fiber type, chrysotile asbestos, excluding legacy uses and associated disposals. After litigation, the EPA was required to supplement the evaluation with a "part 2" risk assessment that considers legacy uses, different asbestos fiber types, and asbestos-containing talc. The reporting rule, released as part of a consent decree, complements the ongoing actions to mitigate asbestos risks.
According to the press release, the agency plans to finalize a rule later this year to ban ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos, the only known form currently imported into the United States. This rule targets products like asbestos diaphragms, sheet gaskets, brake blocks, and other vehicle friction products, aiming to further protect public health from asbestos exposure.
