by Kerri Boddy
Senior Environmental Scientist
On March 18, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a comprehensive ban on the use of white (chrysotile) asbestos, the only remaining type of asbestos still processed in, distributed within and imported into the United States. This ban marks a decades-in-the-making milestone. The EPA has tried for 35 years to ban asbestos in the U.S., while asbestos has been banned for years in 50 other countries, including in the United Kingdom since 1999 and in Australia since 2003.
I know we’ve been hearing about asbestos for decades and are wondering why it just won’t go away. The problem with asbestos (a name given to a group of six naturally-occurring minerals that are mined from the Earth) is that it was used in thousands of building materials in the U.S. for decades.
The EPA’s ban targets certain products that contain white asbestos, including some gaskets and aftermarket automotive products. It also phases out the use of asbestos diaphragms by the chlor-alkali industry, which produces various chemicals. However, the ban does not prohibit the use of the five remaining types of asbestos, which includes the amphibole group. It appears much more difficult to ban amphiboles because those asbestos minerals many times are found as contaminants of other products being mined. Examples would include vermiculate insulation and talc.
Asbestos was added to building products because of its strength, chemical resistance, fire resistance and sometimes for no reason at all other than it was readily available, cheap and thought to be a miracle mineral. This means that asbestos will remain an issue until it is removed from all buildings. When will this happen? Well, not in our lifetime. That being said, asbestos only becomes an issue when it gets into the air. So, managing asbestos in place, thereby minimizing airborne fibers, becomes important. Building owners should be aware of the asbestos-containing materials in their buildings and take steps to minimize the release of asbestos into the air.
Asbestos remains an on-going issue and will remain so for decades. This ban should not be thought of as a total ban, rather simply a step in the right direction.
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