Trump Administration’s New Asbestos Rules Could Re-Introduce Harmful Mineral

 By Tamara Wood

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a new rule regarding asbestos use that it claims will further limit its use. Asbestos was largely banned and highly restricted in the 1970s because of the fact that exposure to it can lead to serious illnesses such as lung cancer and mesothelioma cancer. Critics of the EPA’s rule and Trump’s support of and claims that asbestos is safe say that this move will actually lead to more asbestos use in American industries.

The New EPA Asbestos Rule

The EPA recently announced that it would impose a new rule that limits asbestos use and supposedly closes a loophole from 30 years ago. That loophole, the agency says, kept it from restricting certain products made with asbestos. The EPA says that its new rule will require that some asbestos products go through a review before being allowed on the U.S. marketplace. Fifteen products made with asbestos are on this list, and if a manufacturer wants to use them it must notify the EPA and get approval.

Critics of the new rule, including the Asbestos Disease Awareness Group, have a different view of its impact. While the EPA claims this will help restrict asbestos, the detractors say the review process could actually allow the use of 15 obscure asbestos products. These critics say that the EPA, instead of introducing this review requirement, should have simply banned asbestos outright.

Why Asbestos is Harmful

Asbestos is a known human carcinogen. Exposure to it significantly increases the risk of developing certain types of cancer. Asbestos is a group of fibrous minerals that has long been used in a variety of industries because of its ability to resist fire, heat, corrosion, and electricity.

The fibers of asbestos, if disturbed and disrupted, enter the air and land on surfaces as dust. Anyone in the vicinity can become exposed by inhaling or ingesting the fibers. Once in the body those fibers can cause damage, and in some people that damage leads to mesothelioma, lung cancer, or a type of lung scarring known as asbestosis. Mesothelioma is particularly insidious. It is among the most aggressive and deadly of all types of cancer.

Trump’s Ongoing Support of Asbestos

Long before he was president of the United States, Trump made it clear that he believed concerns about asbestos safety amounted to a conspiracy. In his book The Art of the Comeback, published in 1997, he stated that is safe once applied. He also made the claim that regulations over asbestos use and abatement were a product of a mob conspiracy.

            Now, as president, Trump has continued to support asbestos use and to make claims that it is safe. In 2018, Scott Pruitt, Trump’s choice of the head of the EPA, announced that the agency would no longer assess the risks of asbestos that already exists in the environment when it evaluates asbestos safety.

Asbestos companies have taken note of Trump’s support of the mineral. In Russia, the asbestos company Uralasbest, one of the largest producers of the mineral in the world, put Trump’s face on its asbestos packaging. The packaging also states in triumphant writing that Trump is on the side of asbestos manufacturers.

Exactly how the new EPA rule regarding asbestos will play out remains to be seen, but advocates for asbestos bans are seriously concerned. Products that have not been made with asbestos for decades could now be approved and asbestos could re-enter the market and cause harm.