Asbestos-Containing Products Risk Reduction Act of 2002

The U.S. has not banned asbestos:

Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and there is no known safe level of exposure. In 1976, Congress passed legislation to regulate toxic substances (The Toxic Substances Control Act). In 1989 EPA finalized regulations to ban asbestos under TSCA. In 1991, the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals (New Orleans) overturned EPA's final regulation to ban asbestos. The Bush Administration chose not to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. As a result, new uses of asbestos were banned, but existing uses of asbestos were not.

Most industrialized countries have banned asbestos:

Asbestos will be banned throughout the EU by 2005, and outside of Europe, Argentina, Chile, Croatia, Iceland, Latvia, and Saudi Arabia have also banned the substance. The WTO recently upheld the right of France to ban asbestos, and the U.S. Trade Representative filed a brief supporting France's right to ban the substance. The USTR brief states that chrysotile asbestos "is a toxic material that presents a serious risk to human health."

Americans have been exposed to harmful levels of asbestos:

In Libby, Montana, workers and residents have been exposed to harmful levels of asbestos because of mining operations at the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine. Vermiculite from Libby was shipped for processing to 42 states, and federal agencies are currently investigating possible harmful exposures to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite at these sties.

Senator Murray's Bill:

I. Bans the 6 regulated forms of asbestos (what EPA tried to do in 1989)

This section of the bill most closely resembles the regulations EPA promulgated in 1989. By January 2004, the EPA would propose regulations to outlaw the manufacture, processing, importation and distribution of asbestos-containing products. By January 2005, EPA shall issue final regulations banning asbestos-containing products.

II. Requires the EPA to Convene a Blue Ribbon Panel

In response to the EPA Inspector General's report on Libby, Montana, the EPA promised to convene a Blue Ribbon panel on asbestos and non-regulated fibers. But the EPA has now narrowed the focus of the Panel to solely addressing the six regulated forms of asbestos.

Sen. Murray's legislation would expand the scope of the EPA's panel to include nonasbestiform minerals and other durable fibers. The panel will include participation from the Department of Labor and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Panel will be required to review the current state of the science on the human health effects of exposure to asbestos and nonregulated minerals. It will also review the current laws and rules in place to protect workers and consumers, and make recommendations for improving protections.

In addition, the Panel will address the need for uniform asbestos standards and protocols for detecting and measuring asbestos across federal agencies. Currently, asbestos is regulated under at least 11 different laws. The EPA's Inspector General cited split jurisdiction and multiple standards as one of the reasons EPA didn't do a better job of protecting the people of Libby.

III. Requires a Study on Asbestos-Containing Products and Contaminant-Asbestos Products

The purpose of the survey is to determine which products currently entering the product stream contain asbestos, either on purpose or as a contaminant. The EPA Administrator will be required to conduct this review with input from the Department of Labor, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the International Trade Commission.

The legislation directs the EPA Administrator to conduct a study on the status of asbestos-containing products, such as roofing materials, brake pads, gaskets, which contain asbestos on purpose. EPA must also study contaminant-asbestos products, such as some insulation and horticultural products, which contain asbestos as a contaminant of another substance. The study will examine how people use these products still entering commerce and whether people are being exposed to harmful levels of asbestos.

IV. Requires a Public Education Campaign

Based on the results of the study, the EPA Administrator shall conduct a public education campaign to increase awareness of the dangers posed by asbestos-containing products and contaminant-asbestos products, including in homes and workplaces. The Administrator shall give priority to those products which pose the greatest risk, as determined by the study required by the bill. If the study determines consumers and workers aren't being exposed to harmful levels of asbestos, an education campaign will not be required.

Regardless of the results from the study, EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall be required to conduct a national education campaign about vermiculite insulation within 6 months of passage of the Act. As many as 35 million homes and businesses may contain asbestos-contaminated insulation made with vermiculite from Libby.

V. Requires Additional Research

At least 2,000 people per year die from mesothelioma, a deadly cancer of the lining of the lungs and internal organs caused by exposure to asbestos. The legislation would direct the head of NIH to "expand, intensify and coordinate programs for the conduct and support of research on diseases caused by exposure to asbestos." The Centers for Disease Control would be required to create a National Mesothelioma Registry to improve tracking of the disease. In addition, the bill creates 7 mesothelioma treatment centers in New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston and Seattle to improve treatments for and awareness of this fatal cancer.

** POSTED JUNE 10, 2002 **