Toxic asbestos is now fully banned, a move that EPA calls 'historic'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

March 18, 2024 at 11:31 a.m. EDT


The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized a ban on chrysotile asbestos, part of a family of toxic minerals linked to lung cancer and other illnesses that the agency estimates is responsible for about 40,000 U.S. deaths each year.

The federal ban comes more than 30 years after EPA first tried to rid the nation of asbestos, but was blocked by a federal judge. While the use of asbestos in manufacturing and construction has declined since, it remains a significant health threat.

"Folks, it's been a long road. But with today's ban, EPA is finally slamming the door on a chemical so dangerous that it has been banned in more than 50 countries," said EPA administrator Michael Regan.

The agency's ban targets chrysotile asbestos, also known as "white asbestos," the only one of the six forms of the mineral still being used in the U.S. Resistant to heat and fire, the mineral is used by companies that make vehicle braking systems and sheet gaskets. Chemical manufacturers have also defended its continued use in making chlorine, which utilities use to purify drinking water, as well as in pharmaceuticals and pesticides.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/03/18/chrysotile-asbestos-ban-epa/

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Link to EPA NEWS RELEASE - Biden-Harris Administration finalizes ban on ongoing uses of asbestos to protect people from cancer

[Traildogbob]

1. One of the first

Orders by Trump in 2017 after swearing in, was to allow asbestos to be used again. And immediately pallets of asbestos from Russian began pouring into the US, photos were shown. One of Russias biggest exports was asbestos, the largest manufacturer in the world. Russia, Russia Russia.
I have CT scan scheduled next month for years long chest pain. Stress tests never show heart issue. After reading recently my Destroyer is one ship that has had many claims from mesothelioma cases, I asked my VA primary care doc what she thought, so she scheduled the CT. My last 7 months in the Navy were in the yards for major ship overhaul.
As an Ops Specialist, our every 3 day 24 hour duty watch, we were assigned to be spotters for welding down in the O1 level, where bullheads were being removed and asbestos removed. We were not provided safety gear to protect us.
The Doctor said a positive meso diagnosis can not be treated.
So, that is just one more of the many trump murder associations.
End that mutherfucker and his Russian loyalty over American lives.
Hoping the CT scan does not show what I fear.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. I am sending you good luck vibes

This is a BIG story that is sort of getting lost under other big news, because there is so much asbestos out there, whether it was used in large areas like bulkheads as you noted (or even most older buildings), or in a smaller capacity, like the lab where I used to work where we had old asbestos gloves that we used when we took stuff in and out of a muffle furnace.

[Traildogbob]

3. Many thank you's

I fear many vets on ships during my era may be in my same situation.
I was furious when he allowed as besties use again, especially when we found out the Russian connection. And the media went silent.

[Novara]

8. I hope you'll be okay. Not having PPE is unconscionable.

Asbestos is in so many things you'd never expect. Like floor tiles and flooring glues, popcorn ceilings, acoustic ceiling tiles, drywall joint compound....

Among other things, my company does asbestos inspections and sampling for pre-demolition projects. I learned to identify asbestos in places I'd never have expected. A lot of it is not considered "friable," which means readily released in dust and particles, but it's really everywhere. And too much of it is friable.

So before you do any home remodeling, put on a mask and goggles and wear protective clothing like a Tyvek suit. Better yet, hire an asbestos removal company to take the risks for you, especially if you're thinking or removing popcorn ceiling. In some municipalities, it's the law to hire companies who know how to handle and dispose of the stuff. That shit flies through the air once disturbed. Asbestos fibers can cling to your skin and clothing, so protect yourself.

There's your PSA for the day.

[Traildogbob]

9. Thanks for info

Just hard to comprehend all we knew by 2016, and the regulations and efforts to remove and outlaw this know cancer material, , trump scrubs all asbestos regs and immediately we start receiving ship loads of Russian asbestos.

[Novara]

10. Right. That was fishy as hell.

[brer cat]

4. Yes! K&R

[twodogsbarking]

5. The dangers were suspected more than one hundred years ago.

The first diagnosis of asbestosis was made in the UK in 1924.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. The EPA has been phasing it out for a long long time

(would be over a 50 year period as of next year), but it was not completely banned until now.

https://www.epa.gov/asbestos/asbestos-laws-and-regulations

[Wicked Blue]

7. Long, long overdue

[Aussie105]

11. Thank goodness!

Some of it has been found in mulch used in playgrounds here in Australia.

Some roofing is made from it, as is some old ceiling insulation.
More recent stuff is rockwool or fibreglass, but that was its own handling problems.

Fence sheeting can contain it too.

Be careful out there!
If working with any of those, assume it can be bad for you and use respirator/mask/disposable clothing.
The full hazmat gear.