On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a ban on chrysotile asbestos, a carcinogen currently used or imported in the United States.
“With today’s ban, EPA is finally slamming the door on a chemical so dangerous that it has been banned in over 50 countries,’' EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “This historic ban is more than 30 years in the making, and it’s thanks to amendments that Congress made in 2016 to fix the Toxic Substances Control Act,’' which is the central U.S. law governing the use of chemicals.
According to the Associated Press, the ban was imposed on chrysotile asbestos, which is typically found in certain chlorine bleach, brake pads, and other products. The substance is also used to manufacture chlorine bleach and sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda, including some utilized for water purification.
Exposure to asbestos, however, can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other cancers. The substance is also tied to over 40,000 deaths in the U.S. every year. The new ban further advances President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, an initiative with the goal of reducing cancer deaths by more than 4 million in the U.S. by 2047.
“The science is clear: Asbestos is a known carcinogen that has severe impacts on public health. This action is just the beginning as we work to protect all American families, workers and communities from toxic chemicals,’' Regan said.
Although the federal government initially tried to ban asbestos in the 1980s, those efforts mostly were struck down in 1991, resulting in “more than three decades of inadequate protections," the White House said Monday.
Per USA Today, the federal government passed legislation regulating chemicals again, which prompted the EPA to announce the ban on Monday.
"Reducing exposure to toxic chemicals protects public health and advances President Biden’s commitment to ensuring all people can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in a healthy community," the White House said.
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
