Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency is reopening a Request for Information regarding a proposed rule aimed at protecting workers who face risks presented by legacy uses of asbestos.
EPA says its top priority is “protecting people from the serious health risks of asbestos,” a known human carcinogen linked to lung cancer and mesothelioma – a cancer of the membranes in the abdomen and chest.
Agency officials are asking for more information on activities that disturb materials containing asbestos, use of legacy products, air-sampling methods and laboratory capabilities. Legacy uses include asbestos-containing construction materials in older homes, such as floor and ceiling tiles, pipe wraps, and insulation.
In December 2024, EPA issued Part 2 of a final risk determination and said it would begin rulemaking to “address the unreasonable risk presented by legacy uses and associated disposal of asbestos.”
Part 2 uses – to be covered in the proposed rule – address five types of asbestos fiber, as well as talc and Libby asbestos.
The agency, which now says it will publish a proposed rule on risk management by June 3, 2027, suggests that additional data will clarify “who is exposed, how often, under what conditions, and the costs and benefits of potential actions.”
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, an advocacy group, issued a press release calling the delay “unacceptable.”
ADAO President and CEO Linda Reinstein said that, under the Toxic Substances Control Act, the findings of the 2024 risk evaluation “obligated EPA to move to risk management within a year. It didn’t.”
She added, “Asbestos exposures happen daily, as workers, contractors and homeowners run into asbestos still sitting in millions of buildings.
“More than 40,000 Americans die annually from asbestos-related diseases, and mesothelioma, lung cancer, ovarian and laryngeal cancer, and asbestosis keep surfacing in families decades after the exposure that caused them.”
The deadline to comment is Aug. 24.
EPA’s Part 2 risk determination followed an agency final rule banning the use and import of chrysotile asbestos, the focus of Part 1.
However, enforcement of the ban has been delayed amid various legal challenges. The Trump administration has announced its intent to reconsider the final rule. In June, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard oral arguments concerning the ban.
