Industry criticises proposed US asbestos ban

The US chemical industry is pushing back against calls to implement an outright ban on asbestos, similar to those enacted by the UK and more than 60 other nations. Asbestos is one of the first 10 chemicals slated to undergo risk evaluations by the the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the updated Toxic Substances Control Act (Tsca), which gives the agency more authority to regulate new and existing chemicals.

Last month, the EPA came under fire for enacting a new policy requiring manufacturers to notify the agency and seek its approval before resuming use of asbestos, rather than completely banning this group of naturally occurring fibrous minerals. Opponents feared that this would allow manufacturers to resume abandoned uses of asbestos, which the EPA classifies as a human carcinogen.