9,227 comments submitted urging EPA to ban deadly asbestos
There is overwhelming evidence that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has said that asbestos exposure causes cancer and other serious illnesses in humans. Nearly 70 countries have banned this mineral. However, in the United States asbestos is still in use and putting the health of Americans at risk.
Today U.S. PIRG submitted 9,227 comments to the EPA concerning the proposed rule to regulate chrysotile asbestos under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Nearly 70 other countries have already enacted bans on this deadly carcinogen, yet the U.S. has yet to do the same despite the overwhelming evidence that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. Read the full comment below:
There is overwhelming evidence that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has said that asbestos exposure causes cancer and other serious illnesses in humans. In the United States, asbestos exposure contributes to thousands of Americans dying from asbestos-related illness and disease each year.
U.S. PIRG fully supports the use of EPA’s expanded authority under TSCA to regulate asbestos as proposed in the rule Asbestos Part 1: Chrysotile Asbestos; Regulation of Certain Conditions of Use Under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This is a good step in the right direction, but EPA should also commit to banning the other five types of asbestos (amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite) as well. These other forms are no less dangerous than chrysotile asbestos.
The well-established links between asbestos and cancer apply to all six types of this toxic mineral, wherever they are found. Please take this crucial step for Americans’ health and ban all forms of asbestos, not just one. A full ban on all types of asbestos will ensure that no form of asbestos can be imported to or used in the U.S. and will once and for all protect public health from this deadly carcinogen.
Nearly 70 other countries have taken the step of banning asbestos to protect public health, yet the U.S. has not. U.S. PIRG, in collaboration with other leading public health and advocacy organizations, has strongly advocated for a comprehensive ban on all asbestos imports and use in America that would prevent continued exposure to this dangerous carcinogen.
We at U.S. PIRG and the undersigned all hope that the final rule will use EPA’s expanded authority under TSCA to regulate asbestos, protect all Americans from this deadly toxin and that the agency will take further action to ban all types of asbestos.
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