The US will ban the only type of raw asbestos fiber known to be imported to the country [(chrysotile asbestos)] as part of a broader rule that also will ban all known uses of the cancer-causing mineral and imported equipment made with it, top EPA and White House officials announced on Monday.
Many people are shocked to learn asbestos isn’t already banned, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) said during a briefing the Environmental Protection Agency hosted on the final rule it will release on Monday. But imports of chrysotile asbestos and equipment made with it still leave “too many workers still exposed on job sites,” she said.
Chrysotile asbestos has continued to be imported by a shrinking number of chemical producers: Occidental Petroleum Corp., Olin Corp., and Westlake Corp. The asbestos enables one of three technologies used to make chlorine and caustic soda.
Chrysotile asbestos imports ranged from 41 to 305 metric tons between 2019 and 2023, but due to stockpiling, the chemical companies’ use of it ranged from an estimated 150 to 450 metric tons annually over those years, according to the US Geological Survey’s 2024 Mineral Commodities Survey.
The fiber’s imports will be banned on the rule’s effective date, said Michal Freedhoff, assistant EPA administrator for chemical safety and pollution prevention.
The eight US factories that use the asbestos to make chlorine will have five to 12 years to transition to new technologies to also maintain sufficient chlorine to supply water utilities. The amount of time depends on their transition plans, access to engineering skills and materials needed, she said.
The EPA provided a longer transition time than it proposed in 2022 due to concerns that the domestic supply of chlorine might not be enough to allow water utilities to keep tap water safe, Freedhoff said.
Chlorine is essential to the public health service water utilities provide, said Kevin Morley, federal relations manager for the American Water Works Association, before the EPA released its rule.
The rule also will phase out imports of chrysotile asbestos sheets that are used to make gaskets, which seal gaps between equipment, for titanium dioxide production and to process nuclear material. That use will largely be banned in five years, Freedhoff said.
Asbestos-containing sheet gaskets can continue to be used until 2037 at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site to ensure that the safe disposal of nuclear materials continues while also protecting workers from exposure to radioactive materials, the EPA said.
The rule requires workplace safety measures for any business that’s given more than two years to phase out asbestos.
Oilfield brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes and linings, other vehicle friction products, and other gaskets will be banned six months after the rule’s effective date.
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