EPA Will Revisit Biden-Era Ban on the Last Type of Asbestos Used in US

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: US News and World Report/AP

June 17, 2025, at 6:28 p.m.


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.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2025-06-17/epa-will-revisit-biden-era-ban-on-the-last-type-of-asbestos-used-in-us

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More death panels.

[Irish_Dem]

1. The more Americans they kill, the more tax cuts for billionaires.

[BeyondGeography]

2. Make Asbestos Great Again?

[Ray Bruns]

3. Mesothelioma for everybody!

[William Seger]

4. Who's pushing for this, and how much did they pay?

[purple_haze]

5. What does asbestos do

that a more modern alternative can't? A serious question. Is it cheaper? Easier to make or get? Its been on the radar for decades, surely there are better options now?

[BumRushDaShow]

6. It is abundant, an insulator, and fire-resistent

and it is generally "okay" (in quotes) as long as it doesn't disintegrate into fine particles where it can be inhaled and obviously cause issues.

Before I retired when I worked in a lab, we had asbestos gloves like this -



that we used to take things out of a muffle furnace we had for doing sample "ashing" (with the muffle furnace temps from 400C - 500C or ~800F - 1000F).

Until the earlier big ban around 1980, most buildings had some kind of asbestos "fire retardant" (foam) sprayed on the steel beams. As that stuff aged, it began to break down and go airborne and that is where the problems really hit.

[purple_haze]

8. Understood

But why the need to keep it going as a product in 2025? Surely there are safer, cheaper alternatives?

[BumRushDaShow]

10. There are uses

that are tricky to find replacement material for (e.g., it was being used with brake pads for some vehicles).

The ban went into effect last year - Toxic asbestos is now fully banned, a move that EPA calls 'historic'

The EPA press release at the time - Biden-Harris Administration finalizes ban on ongoing uses of asbestos to protect people from cancer

These parts are notable for who was left still using it -

Chrysotile asbestos is found in products including asbestos diaphragms, sheet gaskets, brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes/linings, other vehicle friction products, and other gaskets. The use of asbestos in the United States has been declining for decades, and its use is already banned in over 50 countries.

Although there are several known types of asbestos, the only form known to be imported, processed, or distributed for use in the United States is chrysotile. Raw chrysotile asbestos was imported into the United States as recently as 2022 for use by the chlor-alkali industry. Most consumer products that historically contained chrysotile asbestos have been discontinued.

Chlor-alkali Sector

The chlor-alkali sector uses asbestos diaphragms to make sodium hydroxide and chlorine, a critical use of which is to disinfect drinking water and wastewater. There are other ways to disinfect water and other ways to produce chlorine; in fact, two-thirds of the chlorine produced in the U.S. is produced without using asbestos. While there are only eight chlor-alkali plants in the United States that still use asbestos diaphragms, EPA must still ensure that the eight facilities have a reasonable transition time for the phase out of asbestos that does not inadvertently adversely impact drinking or wastewater purification efforts.

EPA is banning the import of asbestos for chlor-alkali use immediately to close the door forever on the use of asbestos by this sector.

The above are probably the ones lobbying for the review (and probably repeal).

[Erda]

7. Another aspect is the cost of having to remove it.

If a building containing asbestos collapses, the precautions necessary for removal are enormous. If all the steps are not properly followed, the building owner could end up in jail or go bankrupt.

[hildegaard28]

9. Watch Trump

Order Asbestos put back in classrooms and buildings everywhere.