Posted on June 10, 2021
On Wednesday, June 9, EPA Administrator Michael Regan testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee on EPA’s FY 2022 budget request. Committee Chair Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), who have both been champions of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), pressed Administrator Regan to take strong action on asbestos under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
Since 2017, Sen. Merkley has been the sponsor of the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act. During Wednesday’s hearing, he asked Administrator Regan to issue rules for the top 10 chemicals, which include asbestos, adding “you can’t study things forever. There’s a point where this is a risk, let’s get it out of our products. That’s your job”.
As a leading advocate for asbestos awareness and prevention, Sen. Tester has sponsored the annual Senate Resolution declaring April 1-7 National Asbestos Awareness Week. While questioning the Administrator, he pointed out that “tens of thousands of people have died from” asbestos, adding, “It is not banned outright yet. So the question is, do you believe the EPA has authority under TSCA to regulate legacy uses of asbestos?” While the Administrator answered affirmatively, unfortunately he declined to provide information about EPA’s next steps for asbestos regulations.
Since his confirmation in March, Administrator Regan has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to President Biden’s goal of addressing environmental justice throughout the federal government.
In his prepared testimony, he said,“The communities hardest hit and struggling the most under the weight of the pandemic are often communities of color, lower income communities, and Tribal nations. For decades, many of these same communities have been overburdened with air pollution and other environmental hazards. An individual’s skin color or their zip code shouldn’t determine whether they have clean air to breathe and water to drink”.
Asbestos is an environmental justice issue. In 2020, Texas and Louisiana imported nearly 300 metric tons of raw asbestos. The chlor-alkali industry is the primary importer and user of raw chrysotile asbestos. The two main ports of entry are located in New Orleans and Houston where an estimated 65 percent of the residents are Black or Hispanic.
EPA has already found six conditions of risk for asbestos fibers. ADAO urges EPA to move swiftly to prohibit asbestos imports and use that EPA themselves identified in Part I of the chrysotile risk evaluation and then quickly finish the evaluations for the other five fibers, and legacy asbestos found in homes, schools, workplaces, and in Superfund sites.
Asbestos has been a known carcinogen since the 1920s, and yet over 40,000 people a year still die from preventable asbestos-caused diseases. While ADAO remains grateful to Senators Merkley, Tester and other supporters in the Senate advocating for an asbestos-free world, we strongly urge Administrator Regan to take quick and decisive action under his authority. The time is now.
Linda Reinstein
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